THE DIGEST: Free tax preparation, Easter Egg Hunt, Community Health Fair & more

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VSU wants to do your taxes! (For free!)

If you live in Petersburg, Hopewell or Colonial Heights, VSU wants do your taxes. (For free!)

For the 37th year in a row, VSU accounting students are teaming up with the IRS to offer free income tax preparation and filing assistance to individual and joint filers in the Tri-Cities area. Created to help low-income and elderly residents in the Tri-Cities area navigate tax season, the VITA program is open to individual or joint filers with an income of $73,000 or below.

To participate in the program, residents must drop off their tax information and a valid form of identification in Singleton Hall, room 128, on the VSU campus. (Near the intersection of University Avenue and Boisseau Street, Singleton Hall can be located as building #41 on this map.) If program participants have mobility issues, they can also call ahead to arrange for someone to meet them at their car in the parking lot outside of Singleton Hall to complete their intake form and accept their documentation.

The site will be staffed three days a week through April 7th, 2024 (the last day to register for the VITA program), including Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m. and Wednesdays from 4 to 8 p.m., except on days when the University is closed. After documentation is dropped off, a VITA program worker will call clients to go over their tax return. The return will be filed electronically via the IRS E-file system after it is picked up and approved by the taxpayer.

For more information, please contact Dr. Andrews at (804) 504-7079 or Ms. Bertha Morgan at the VSU Accounting and Finance Department at (804) 524-5842.

Colonial Heights Hope & Resilience Art Show & Contest

Young adults and children who either live or receive services in Colonial Heights and Chesterfield County are invited to submit their artwork with the theme of "Hope & Resilience" for consideration to the Colonial Heights Hope & Resilience Art Show. Selected artwork will be showcased at the art show, which is set to happen between 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. at the Colonial Heights Courthouse on Thursday, April 18th.

Submissions are due by April 9th, and must be sent in alongside completed submission forms (due April 8th). The completed submission forms should be emailed to eahall@vacourts.gov or dropped off at Colonial Heights' Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court Clerk’s Office (550 Boulevard). Artwork should be dropped off at the Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court Clerk’s Office in either Colonial Heights or Chesterfield County as soon as possible by April 9th. If possible, participants are encouraged (but not required) to submit their artwork alongside their completed submission form.

Free Hopewell Hoppin’ Happenings Annual Easter Egg Hunt

Hopewell's popular Hoppin' Happenings Annual Easter Egg Hunt will be taking place this Saturday, March 23rd between noon to 2 p.m. at the Atwater Soccer Complex (200 Atwater Road). The event is completely free, and will include fun for the entire family! There will be carnival rides, music, a petting zoo, face painting, food trucks and an Easter Bunny visit! An egg hunt will also be available for ages 3 - 10. Easter Egg hunts will be divided into age categories and will include over 10,000 eggs, just make sure to bring your own basket!

All children must be accompanied by an adult. Attendees can park at the Atwater Soccer Complex and Atwater Pavilion. For more information, please contact Hopewell Recreation and Parks at (804) 541-2353 or recandparks@hopewellva.gov.

Free Produce, Resources & Training at Upcoming Petersburg Community Health Fair

On Saturday, March 23, the Tabernacle Baptist Church Health Care Ministry will be holding a Community Health Fair in collaboration with several organizations in Petersburg. The event will be held between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tabernacle Baptist Community Life Center, located at 444 Halifax Street in Petersburg.

The Health Fair will have multiple resources available for the community, including but not limited to flu shots and other vaccinations, blood pressure and blood sugar readings and NARCAN opioid overdose nasal spray training, among others. The Sentara Mobile Van, a mobile-care clinic, will also be onsite, and Director of the Crater Health District Dr. Alton Hart, Jr. will give a talk on the state of health in the Crater District at 11 a.m. Additionally, free fruits and vegetables will be distributed at the event by the Justin J. Davis Heart Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides tools and resources to help people live a heart-heathy lifestyle.

Keep Hopewell Beautiful Committee spring cleanup events

The Keep Hopewell Beautiful (KHB) Committee has three cleanup events planned for the spring, including two upcoming events this weekend: a spring cleaning in downtown Hopewell on March 23 between 10 a.m. to noon and a community cleanup hosted by the Hopewell High School Class of 2024 on March 24 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Volunteers for the March 23rd cleanup will be meeting in the gravel parking lot next to the Appomattox Regional Library at 10 a.m., and can contact heather@hopewelldowntown.com for more information. Volunteers for the March 24th cleanup will be meeting at Harry E. James Elementary at 11 a.m. and can contact Ashleigh for more information at (804) 668-8189.

KHB, a forum to influence residents of Hopewell to keep the city clean and aesthetically appealing, meets regularly at the Hopewell library to plan litter cleanup and education events. Following the events of this weekend, the next KHB cleanup will be an Earth Day cleanup on April 19. For more information about attending meetings, participating in cleanups or volunteering, you can contact Kelly Davis, Senior Planner for the Keep Hopewell Beautiful Committee, at (804) 541-2269.

Traffic Alerts for March 18 to March 22

PETERSBURG – The following is a list of roadwork that may affect traffic in the Petersburg transportation district throughout the coming weeks. Scheduled work is subject to change due to inclement weather and material supplies. Motorists are advised to watch for slow-moving tractors during mowing operations. When traveling through a work zone, be alert to periodic changes in traffic patterns and lane closures.

I-95 RAMP CLOSURE IN PETERSBURG FOR BRIDGE RECONSTRUCTION SCHEDULED FOR PETERSBURG 6 P.M. SUNDAY, MARCH 17 UNTIL 5 A.M. FRIDAY MARCH 22.

Weather permitting, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will close the I-95 southbound ramp over Wythe Street starting at 6:00 p.m., Sunday, March 17, until 5:00 a.m., Friday, March 22, for joint reconstruction on the bridge. Motorists should use the following detour:

Continue west on E. Washington Street, turn left on S. Adams Street, turn left on E. Wythe Street, and proceed to the I-95 southbound exit. Anyone with questions about the project can call VDOT’s customer service center at 800-FOR-ROAD (800-367-7623).

For the latest real-time traffic information or road conditions, call 511 or visit http://www.511virginia.org.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: THE DIGEST: Free tax preparation, Easter Egg Hunt, Health Fair & more