5th Annual Real$ense Volunteer Appreciation Celebration! Dave & Buster’s – May 2, 2008 It has been said that people who complain about taxes can be divided into two classes: men and women. But not one complaint was heard at the 5th Annual Volunteer Recognition Celebration at Dave & Buster’s on May 2nd, 2008, as nearly 200 volunteers and supporters of the Real$ense Prosperity Campaign were on hand at Dave and Buster’s to celebrate another successful tax season. “We served 13,807 people this tax season at all of the coalition’s tax sites—including AARP Tax-Aide sites, The Benefit Bank sites, and the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) sites. That’s a 39% increase—on top of an 81% increase last year!” announced Executive Director Kaye Schmitz to an enthusiastic crowd. Kaye’s annual “numbers roll,” detailing new milestones reached this tax season as well as the incredible gains made over the past few years since the Real$ense Prosperity Campaign began, was even more exciting than usual! See all of the great 2008 results in “Tax Season Update.” Throughout the evening, the presence of Jaguar Cornerback, Rashean Mathis and his lovely fiancé, Ebony Davis, added an extra element of excitement for all attendees. Rashean and his mother, Oletha, (who was not able to attend the Volunteer Celebration due to minor injuries suffered in an automobile accident earlier in the week) gave Real$ense a real boost in 2008 by being the very visible faces and voices for the tax season campaign. Tax site volunteers said many times that clients would come in and tell them “Rashean told me to come here,” as a result of seeing the Public Service Announcement, filmed and produced by Tony Sotelo of CBS47 Television. In addition to the television and radio spots, Rashean and his mother were seen on interior bus ads in approximately 80 City of Jacksonville buses, courtesy of Michael Blaylock, Director of Jacksonville Transportation Authority. Just as tax site clients appreciated seeing Rashean with his mother in the Real$ense PSA, Mathis cannot forget the important role his mother played in his life. In fact, he acknowledges her with gratitude and thanks at every opportunity. “Being raised in a single parent home, you learn how to make ends meet,” Rashean told the gathering on May 2nd. “My Mom taught all four of us kids about responsibility and told us many times that we can never be too nice to someone,” he said. “We need to help others.We need to be nice. I was blessed to have a good role model growing up, and now I’m blessed to get to be a role model for others.” Rashean finished his speech to the crowd by saying, “So I congratulate all of us—and I’m including myself in that—for the wonderful job we did in getting the word out in the community and for making a real difference in the lives of so many people. This is a very special evening, and I’m proud to be a part of it.” For 5-year old Quinn Braun, it was a special evening indeed, as he shook the hand of his favorite Jaguar player. Quinn, the son of Paul and Michelle Braun,Wachovia Southeast Community Relations Executive and Real$ense Community Chair, was spellbound as Mathis stood up to speak to the group. Soon, Mathis had everyone in the audience spellbound as well. “It wasn’t as much what he said as the way he said it,” noted Carroll Sharp, an AARP Tax- Aide volunteer. “He really was talking from deep in his heart and that meant a lot.” Calling it “a privilege and an honor to be the face of something so positive,” Mathis talked about the impact he’d seen in the community since becoming involved with Real$ense. “It’s our community,” he said. “There are so many things we can and should do to help people. It’s my responsibility, too. I thank God that I’m blessed as a disciple to teach everyone what I’ve learned.”