Michael Swayze's Community Resources

Author: Michael Swayze

  • New Jersey SHARES Launches New Facebook Page

    Today New Jersey SHARES, our statewide nonprofit energy fund sent out their monthly newsletter. The lead article announced the launching of their Facebook page. If you want to receive timely information about our statewide energy fund, get news about energy assistance, or related social service resources just add NJ SHARES to your Facebook community. Their article reads as follows:

    We are pleased to announce the NJ SHARES Facebook Page has officially launched. Please “Like” us on Facebook and consider sharing with your network.

    “Like” Us:
    It’s easy to “Like” the New Jersey SHARES, Inc. page. First, log into your own Facebook page. Next, click on this link http://www.facebook.com/njshares OR manually type that address into your own web browser, and you will be transported to our page. Underneath our cover photo and next to our name, you will see an icon that says “Like” with a thumbs-up graphic. Simply “Like” the page by clicking on that icon.

    Share with Network
    Once you have “Liked” New Jersey SHARES, Inc.’s page, consider sharing the page with your friends and other networks. Visit New Jersey SHARES, Inc.’s Facebook page – underneath our cover photo, next to the icon that says “Like,” there should be another icon that looks like a wheel or gear. Click that icon, and a drop down menu will appear. Next, click on “Share.” which is listed underneath “Create a Page.”

    Other articles in their newsletter covered the following: “Find Out If You Qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit”, “Tax Credit Available for New Jersey’s Working Families”, “Poverty Presents Risks for Children in Newark” and a spotlight on HOPES Community Action Partnership.

    To subscribe to NJ SHARES newsletter, Sharing Neighborhoods, please visit http://www.njshares.org/aboutNJShares/newsletter.asp.

  • Power Station Crippled By Cyber Attack

    Last Sunday 100 million television viewers became aware of a power surge at a stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. Very few Americans on the other hand are aware of dangers facing our electric grid and power plants. The danger comes to us with new coined terms such as cyber warfare, cyberstrikes, and cyber attack. In a speech today to a Georgetown University audience, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned his audience with the following, “I believe that it is very possible the next Pearl Harbor could be a cyber attack… [that] would have one hell of an impact on the United States of America. That is something we have to worry about and protect against.” For details read the Defense Department new release titled, “Panetta Warns Cyber Threat Growing Quickly”.

    What is just as alarming as the threat is the lack of news coverage about the current state of preparedness against computer attacks from either foreign terrorists or foreign countries. In a news article published in the New York Times, “Broad Powers Seen for Obama in Cyberstrikes” reporters David E. Sanger and Thom Shanker write the following, “The Department of Homeland Security recently announced that an American power station, which it did not name, was crippled for weeks by cyberattacks.” The incident was reported in a one sentence entry in paragraph 13 of the February 4th edition. Perhaps it is time John Q. Public be given more information by both the press and our elected officials.

    There are things each American can do to protect themselves against computer hackers and computer threats, even in their own home. You can become aware of actions you can take to protect your home computer. The Department of Homeland Security’s United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) has issued a Securing Your Web Browser report. Read it, study it, pass it on to your organization IT Department, but don’t think that computer security is someone else’s job.

  • EITC Awareness Day – January 25, 2013

    EITC Awareness Day is a one-day blitz for mainstream and social media to reach the broadest possible range of potentially eligible taxpayers. In 2012, 26.5 million low and moderate income households received $60.7 billion under the Earned Income Tax Credit. If you worked and had income under $50,270 find out if your are eligible for EITC.

    There are a number of contact points to determine if you qualify. They include calling the Internal Revenue Service at 1-800-829-1040 or the New Jersey Division of Taxation at 888-895-9179. In New Jersey you can call the 2-1-1 Partnership by dialing 2-1-1 or 877-652-1148 to get free help filing your taxes.

    Free help in preparing your tax return – you can claim EITC even if you had nothing withheld from your paycheck – is available through the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide or at Volunteers in Tax Assistance (VITA) sites throughout New Jersey and nationwide. The 2-1-1 Partnership maintains a list of VITA and AARP Tax Assistance Sites in New Jersey.

    Also, a number of organizations in and near New Jersey promote EITC and provide free tax preparation service to qualifying individuals and families. They are:
    Mercer County CASH Campaign
    Newark Now
    New Jersey Citizen Action
    Our neighbors in Philadelphia can also contact either Ceiba or Campaign for Working Families.

    Nonprofit organizations that wish to become actively involved in promoting EITC should contact either the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities or the National Community Tax Coalition.

    Additional details and web links are available on New Jersey Community Resources website on the Earned Income Tax Credit page.

    To claim your EITC tax credit you must file a tax return.