By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
January 11, 2012

It began as that Christmas giving spirit – donating toys, holiday turkeys and basic necessities.

For Instant Tax Service, that giving spirit continues to linger, continues to whisper of the great needs of Northeast. Christmas and Thanksgiving may have passed, but it’s not stopping Instant Tax Service from graciously giving back to the community.

“What’s your story?” That’s the new project the company is working on, thanks to Shay Scott, district manager for the Instant Tax Service Kansas City market.

“Everybody has a story. You never know what a person’s going through,” Scott said.

Once a month, Instant Tax Service, 2122 E. 12th St., plans to adopt a family or individual in need to assist with bills, groceries, a job interview, whatever the need.

Scott thought of the idea as she began to truly sense the need in Northeast.

This Christmas season, the company adopted four families in Northeast, giving them gifts and groceries, and also donated items to City Union Mission, the Hot 103 Jamz toy and food drive and the Bishop Sullivan Center Christmas “Walk-up Program.”

Bishop Sullivan Center needed Christmas items for its clients, who asked for basic necessities like toothpaste, body wash, lotion, towels and gloves.

Bishop Sullivan Center was in short supply of several items, said Kim Clough, special events coordinator for Bishop Sullivan Center. Instant Tax Service’s donations helped fill that gap.

“It helps out tremendously because otherwise we would have to use funds from our (other) programs and buy these items. It gets expensive,” Clough said. “It definitely helps the agency.”

For Scott, donating to area agencies like Bishop Sullivan Center opened her eyes to a need.

“From my perspective, I’m thinking, ‘Wow, people are asking for body wash because in your mind you’re thinking body wash is $2.’ People are really struggling in this economy,” Scott said. “I was overwhelmed. I really didn’t know there were so many people from the Northeast area to midtown to southtown that are homeless or that are in need. It was really shocking.”

With permission from her boss, Sam Teshaye, Scott is beginning a new chapter for Instant Tax Service – “What’s your story?”

“People know us for doing taxes. They don’t know us for trying to make the community better,” Scott said. “I want them to know that we’re a company that’s willing to help people. We want to be aware of what’s going on in the community.”

In addition to the company funded “What’s your story?”, Shay is encouraging her employees to give back to the community – whether that’s serving at a soup kitchen or volunteering as a youth mentor.

“We can’t change the world, but we can at least try to make a difference,” she said.