Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Meals On Wheels Atlanta Announces New Look, Name

Atlanta Student Designs Winning Logo

Meals On Wheels Atlanta announced today that Bill Ellington, a student at American Intercontinental University in Atlanta, is the winner of the new logo contest for Meals On Wheels Atlanta. Bill will receive a $1000 prize this Wednesday generously donated by Monica and John Pearson.

The logo contest was judged by local artists: photographer Lucinda Bunnen; painter Radcliffe Bailey; Cartoon Network Creative Director, Damon Pittman; the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s political cartoonist Mike Luckovich; David Cohen, brand strategist; Equation Arts and High Museum of Arts curator, and Michael Rooks.

“We are so excited about our new look and new name,” stated Jeffrey Smythe, Executive Director. “Meals On Wheels Atlanta has such great name recognition and trustworthiness.”

Meals On Wheels Atlanta will become the new name for Senior Citizen Services of Metropolitan Atlanta (SCS) this spring. SCS began delivering nutritious meals to seniors through its Meals On Wheels Atlanta program in 1970 and is the oldest provider of home-delivered meals in the city. Meals On Wheels Atlanta delivers more than 300 meals daily and nearly 106,000 meals each year.

The award announcement will take place Wednesday, March 28th at 2 p.m. at Senior Citizen Services, 1705 Commerce Dr NW, Atlanta, 30318.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Meals On Wheels Association of Georgia to Hold March for Meals Campaigns

Meals On Wheels Association of Georgia to Hold March for Meals Campaigns
Mayors and Commissioners assist in feeding homebound seniors throughout state

Atlanta, GA –Various chapters of the Meals On Wheels Association of Georgia (MOWAG) announced today that they will be participating in the national 2012 March For Meals campaign. March For Meals is a national campaign held during the month of March, initiated and sponsored by the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA), to raise awareness of senior hunger and to encourage action on the part of local communities.

MOWAG’s March For Meals events will include a Mayors For Meals event that will have mayors, various elected officials, public safety officials, and community partners throughout the state deliver meals to homebound senior residents. Some of the chapters that will be participating in the program include DeKalb County, Clayton County, Fayette County, North Fulton County, Coweta County along with the cities of Athens, Winder and the city of Atlanta. Mayor Kasim Reed has agreed to join hundreds of other volunteers with meal deliveries in an effort to bring about a greater awareness of this very serious issue among our country’s senior population.

Jeff Smythe, president of MOWAG is excited about the various events taking place throughout the month of March that will help shine some light on the issue of senior citizens going hungry.

“With Georgia’s ranking as #6 in the nation for incidence of senior hunger, our dozens of local meals on wheels programs are a safety net across the state. March For Meals and Mayors For Meals bring recognition to the critical daily efforts of so many volunteers and staff members.”

As the problem of senior hunger in America is getting worse this year, Meals On Wheels programs across the country are also celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the inclusion of Senior Nutrition Programs in the Older Americans Act (OAA). The OAA is the primary piece of federal legislation that authorizes and supports vital nutrition services, both congregate and Meals On Wheels, to Americans age 60 and older.

To find out more information about MOWAG or to locate a chapter in your community visit www.mowaa.org/state_ga.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

When Is a Refund Not a Refund? When It's Phony

From the Wall Street Journal:

The Internal Revenue Service is warning senior citizens and others to beware of come-ons that use the promise of tax refunds to tempt them to file returns. The agency said it has seen a surge of fraudulent claims coming in from across the U.S.

The IRS, which said it has detected and stopped thousands of fraudulent claims, warned that promoters charge large upfront fees to file the claims and then have disappeared by the time taxpayers discover they’ve been scammed.

“This is a disgraceful effort by scam artists to take advantage of people by giving them false hopes of a nonexistent refund,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman.

In most of its guises, the scheme promises refunds to people with little or no income who normally don’t need to file a tax return. Promoters promise victims they can obtain a tax refund or other payment based on the American Opportunity Tax Credit - which couples with adjusted gross incomes of less than $160,000 can use to help cover higher-education costs – even if the victim isn’t enrolled in or paying for college.

The agency says that con artists often falsely claim that refunds are available even if the victim went to school decades ago. It added that the victims often include senior citizens, people with low incomes and members of church congregations.

To avoid being entrapped by this scheme, the IRS is warning taxpayers to beware of the following:


  • Fictitious claims for refunds or rebates based on false statements of entitlement to tax credits.

  • Unfamiliar for-profit tax services selling refund and credit schemes to the membership of local churches.

  • Internet solicitations that direct individuals to toll-free numbers and then solicit Social Security numbers.

  • Homemade flyers and brochures implying credits or refunds are available without proof of eligibility.

  • Offers of free money with no documentation required.

  • Promises of refunds for “Low Income – No Documents Tax Returns.”

  • Claims for the expired Economic Recovery Credit Program or for economic-stimulus payments.

  • Unsolicited offers to prepare a return and split the refund.

  • Unfamiliar return-preparation firms soliciting business from cities outside of the normal business or commuting area.
For additional information on tax scams, see “IRS Warns on ‘Dirty Dozen’ Tax Scams for 2012.”

March 6, 2012
http://blogs.wsj.com/totalreturn/2012/03/06/when-is-a-refund-not-a-refund-when-its-phony/?mod=google_news_blog