Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Growing Free Tax Prep Services
In 2022, Nationwide Children’s Hospital provided more free tax preparation services than perhaps any other children’s hospital in the United States. The hospital and its volunteers helped return $1.4 million in refunds to low-and-moderate income families – and assisted many in accessing tax credits they didn’t know they were entitled to.
Nationwide Children’s is doing even more this year, including partnering with the United Way of Central Ohio to bring back one of the United Way’s signature events: Super Saturday, the largest free tax preparation event in the region.
It will be held February 25, 2023, at Nationwide Children’s Ann I. Wolfe Education Center, 575 S. 18th St., Columbus.
Super Saturday was put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Ed Miner, who has led Nationwide Children’s tax preparation clinics as a project manager for the Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families initiative. Since Nationwide Children’s already works with United Way on tax clinics and had the space and technological infrastructure to support a large event, the hospital offered to host a relaunched Super Saturday this year.
“Nationwide Children’s is fully committed to improving not only the physical health of children and families, but their well-being in every possible way,” Miner said. “The United Way has decades of experience and expertise in offering these kinds of financial services in central Ohio, so it’s a natural fit.”
Between 30 and 50 volunteers from the United Way and across the community will be at the event. Nationwide Children’s Child Care Center will provide babysitting services, and the Legal Aid Society of Columbus will be available for tax filers who may need legal advice. Parking will be free.
The goal in this first year of Nationwide Children’s hosting is to complete 100 tax returns in one day, Miner said. Super Saturdays before the pandemic could have as many as 200 returns completed, and the United Way/Nationwide Children’s partnership hopes to build back to that number.
Nationwide Children’s will also continue to run free tax preparation clinics in five locations throughout Columbus, also in collaboration with the United Way.
Appointments can be made now through 614filefree.org.
“Nationwide Children’s is fully committed to improving not only the physical health of children and families, but their well-being in every possible way.”
