Urban League of Greater Chattanooga gets perfect score

When it comes time once again to file income taxes, it's expected 5,000 Chattanoogans will get help to file electronically through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.

That's not a for-profit business — it's a free service of the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga staffed by volunteers who are being trained now.

"We don't charge [tax filers] anything," said Warren E. Logan Jr., president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga." They get the full benefit of whatever refunds they're going to get."

The tax-assistance service is one of things that Logan said the local Urban League is "doing right," which garnered it a perfect score of five out of a possible five from the National Urban League in a recent five-year review.

"Five years ago, our Urban League affiliate received a 4.3 score on our organization's assessment," Logan said in a statement. "Since then, we've focused on growing our local programs and tailoring our services to meet the economic and social needs of many Chattanooga individuals and families through programs like Volunteer Income Tax Assistance."

Another program that Logan cites is the STEM Academy, an after-school program funded by the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga that funds teachers to stay late and teach science-, technology-, engineering- and math-oriented material to students at Rivermont, Orchard Knob and Woodmore elementary schools and to middle school students at the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences.

The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga launched the STEM Academy several years ago, Logan said, after "we determined that there was not enough interested among children of color regarding the STEM curriculum."

The organization most recently launched the NextLevel Chattanooga program which is a seven-month program designed to provide Chattanooga-area business owners with the know-how and connections to help grow and create more jobs in the community.

"Thanks to Warren's leadership and the hard work of the Urban League board, staff and volunteers, our local Urban League chapter has steadfastly been able to serve local community members," Dana Perry, board chairwoman for the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing down this path of growth and meeting the needs of individuals throughout the community."

The Urban League also hosts an annual job fair. The next one is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 12 from 10 a.m.2 p.m. at its headquarters at 730 E. Martin Luther King Blvd.

"Our annual job fair is a great opportunity for job seekers to connect with local employers in some of our area's fastest growing fields, like healthcare, manufacturing, telecommunications, banking, customer service, and so many more," said Ronni Pruitt, Urban League's Director of Workforce Development and Talent Management in a statement.

Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or twitter.com/meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.