There's a lot happening at Common Heart  ...  read all about the big changes in our latest e-newsletter:
 
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Big-Months---Big-Thanks-.html?soid=1101918735867&aid=h7PjY2-JxI8

 Our free tax prep service is in full swing! If your household income is $52,000 or less a year, we can file your taxes for free! Thanks to our wonderful trained volunteers for making this happen!

 

 Volunteers offer free tax prep

   Trained Common Heart volunteers are ready to help individuals and families file their taxes!

   Households making $52,000 or less annually are eligible for the free filing service, completed by trained and certified volunteers as part of the national Volunteers in Tax Assistance, or VITA, program. Last year, volunteers prepared taxes for 250 families.

   This is the third year Common Heart has offered free tax services. Residents meet with a volunteer preparer, by appointment only, at Immanuel's Church, 321 Indian Trail Road North, in Indian Trail.

   Volunteer Site Coordinator Susan Ochs, of Marvin, said about a dozen volunteers are eager to help this year. A veteran of the financial industry, Ochs volunteered to help with the program last year after seeing a call for volunteers in a local newspaper.  

Volunteer Susan Ochs

   "I was kind of at that point where I was looking for some volunteer opportunities to give back. Something more than just writing a check," she said. "I enjoyed it. Everyone that came in ... was very appreciative of what we did. It makes the time you put in feel valuable when people appreciate what you do."

   The free service is available by appointment only, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3 to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To make an appointment, call 704-684-9007.

We'd like to introduce you to the Cowan family. They serve Common Heart & the Common Cupboard to demonstrate God's love. 

   Jody and Julie Cowan became food pantry delivery drivers more than a year ago to demonstrate God's love in front of their children.

Now the youngsters – they have a 2-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son – enjoy helping mom and dad carry groceries to their regular monthly neighbors in need.

   “If we write a check, (our children) don't know what we're doing. We want our children to know, especially our 4-year-old son, that life isn't always what he experiences,” Julie said. “That God really wants us to share what we've been given.”

   The Cowans learned about Common Heart from a friend at their church, Providence City Church, and had helped with food drives and the annual turkey countdown. But delivering food once a month to the same friends in the same trailer park has meant much more, Julie said.

Julie Cowan

   “The longer we've been going, the more we've found out about them. We hear about their children or grandchildren and some of their struggles,” she said, adding they recently visited one of their friends in the hospital after surgery. “It's been good to kind of get to know them. At home, we try to pray for them and my son knows (our Common Heart friends) by name.”

   If you're not familiar with Common Heart, Julie wants you to know:

“They're making a difference and building relationships – it's more than just giving hand outs,” she said.