The ABA Section of Taxation has partnered with the nonprofit Alaska Business Development Center to launch a new pro bono project for the section to help low-income Alaskans in isolated areas prepare their tax returns.
March 24, 2025 Pro Bono
ABA program offers tax help to remote Alaskans
In late February, six ABA members traveled to remote communities in the 49th state to spend a week assisting native Alaskans with income tax filings as part of the Alaska Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Project.
Volunteers completed many hours of in-depth online training before the trip to meet the IRS’ VITA program’s advanced certification level, which can also be used in their home community VITA sites.
Florida tax attorney Karen Lapekas volunteered for the Alaska VITA program because she considered it a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to serve others and experience another culture. The ABA volunteers were divided into two groups. Lapekas’ team traveled to Kotzebue, Point Hope and Point Lay in northwest Alaska, and the second group traveled to Chevak in southwest Alaska. Together the volunteers completed nearly 400 tax returns in one week. Lapekas said she loved her interactions with the people.
“You see a way of life that’s radically different,” she said. “I have so much respect for the people and how they are able to survive there.”
Would Lapekas do it again? “In a heartbeat,” she said.
During winter 2024, three ABA volunteers went to two small, off-the-beaten path villages in frigid northern Alaska to prepare residents’ returns. Based on their meaningful experience and impact, the Tax Section funded travel for this year’s volunteers to Anchorage, and the Alaska Business Development Center arranged and funded their lodging and travel within Alaska.