Life Values

Parents across the San Joaquin Valley will have to answer an important question – “What are we going to do now mom and dad?”— over the coming weeks as the region’s schools close for the summer.

Luckily, there are several summer camp programs that could help children of all ages fight off the summer doldrums and keep your sanity in check. Here’s a quick rundown of these programs and where you can learn more about them:

• Continue the learning experience: The Center for Advanced Research and Technology still has space in its builder’s workshop, cybersecurity, and optical illusions summer programs. You might also want to check out San Joaquin Delta College’s “Kids College” curriculum for a chance to learn more about music, reading, robotics, and theater.
• Explore the great outdoors: Give your children a chance to learn about nature and cool off by playing in the water at the San Joaquin Parkway River Parkway and Conservation Trust’s “River Camp” program. You might also want to try Camp Jack Hazard so your children can enjoy a full week-long experience in the woods.
• Go beyond bible school: Local churches are offering far more than the traditional mission trips and vacation bible school programs this summer. Ask around and you’ll find bicycle and motorcycle rides, movie nights, swim parties, and skeet shooting activities.

  You might also want to try Camp Keola, Hartland Christian Camp, Hume Lake Christian Camps, and the YMCA Camp at Sequoia Lake for an experience that mixes canoeing and cabins with Christian values and a chance for your children to fully explore their faith.

• Try a new sport: The City of Fresno’s Parks, After School, Recreation, and Community Services department offers a series of summer camps where children can play basketball, BMX, flag football, skating, and soccer. More advanced athletes might enjoy programs offered by Football Club Barcelona, the Fresno Dolphins, the Fresno Grizzlies, and the Sierra Sport & Racquet Club.
• Visit a museum: The Discovery Center in Fresno offers children between the ages of five and 13 years a chance to learn about dinosaurs, space exploration and chemistry with its series of week-long summer camp programs. The Fresno Art Museum offers summer programs teaching children how to draw, paint murals, and turn garbage into fashion.

Hopefully this list of ideas will give our children ample opportunity to stay busy and out of your hair this season. And if things don’t work out, don’t worry because summer’s almost over and in just three months it will be time for them to go back to school.

Are you starting to think about the 2022 fall semester at college?

Are you wondering how you will pay for it?

Would you like some help paying for college tuition?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above, please check out the scholarship tab at the mennoniteinsurance.com website.

This year Mennonite Insurance is offering 5 scholarships at $1,000 each.  The eligibility guidelines and application are available now.

If you know of someone who might qualify, please forward this information to them.

According to its website, the Internal Revenue Service expects to receive 155 million federal income tax returns before the current tax processing season ends April 17. Nearly 70 percent of the individuals and families who file a tax return this year will receive a refund¹.

“The IRS has a number of ways to help taxpayers this filing season,” Acting IRS Commissioner David Kautter said in a press release the agency sent out Jan. 29 to mark that start of this year’s tax season.

Those ways include filling out an online tax return with a commercial tax preparation software package like TurboTax, enlisting the help of a commercial or nonprofit tax preparation service, and downloading the forms you need from the IRS’ website so you can fill them out yourself.

But no matter what method you choose, here are a few things to keep in mind to guarantee your tax season will be a smooth one and involve as few headaches as possible:

• Refund schedule: Filing your taxes online and using a direct deposit feature is the quickest way to get your refund this year if one is due. The IRS estimates nine out of every 10 tax refunds will be processed in less than 21 days. However, people who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) will not receive their refunds until after Feb. 27 because these two deductions are common targets of fraud and need extra scrutiny.
• Prevent identity theft: Filing your return early, equipping your computer with a good security package, and using a strong password when you create your account are three steps you can take to prevent identity theft this year. And remember, the IRS will never use e-mail, text messages, or social media to request your personal or financial information – which means anyone who does is probably a scammer².
• Last minute deductions: Contributing money to a traditional IRA before April 17, 2018, can help people reduce their 2017 taxable incomes and the total amount they might owe the IRS this year. Itemizing your tax deductions rather than claiming the standard deduction could also reduce what you owe³.

Finally, the much-discussed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that President Donald J. Trump signed into law last December did not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2018. This means that with a few exceptions you won’t have to worry about any of the changes it brings until it’s time to file your 2018 tax return next year.

However, now is the perfect time to take note of whatever tax credits or deductions you’re claiming this year and compare that list to the list of what will be affected by the tax reform package. This way, you’ll be a step ahead when it’s time to file your 2018 tax return.

Sources:

1. IRS Press Release
2. Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft
3. TurboTax

Stephanie Heier has one goal for the coming year: Learn how to say “No.”

“I tend to say yes to too many things because they’re important to me,” Heier said, admitting she sometimes drops one of the balls she constantly juggles in the air. “The word ‘No’ is generally not in my vocabulary but it’s going to be this year.”

People tend to have a hard time saying “No” according to the American Psychological Association because they want to be liked and avoid having someone else think they are uninterested, selfish, or lazy. Of course, constantly saying “Yes” can leave a person feeling scattered, stressed and in poor health .

That’s why the association recommends people in these situations develop a clear understanding of what’s important to them so they can figure out whether the request might get in their way or help them move forward. They should also learn how to be very simple and direct when denying the person’s request and do it quickly so he or she doesn’t have to wait and can make other plans.

Heier’s already started this process by figuring out that lightening the load on her shoulders would give her the chance to spend better time with her family members and pay more attention to her daily Bible readings. She’s also started letting people know about the change that’s coming.

“I’ve told some friends,” Heier said about her plans to start saying “No” at the beginning of this year. “It’s not a reflection on you, it’s a reflection on me.”

Sources:

1. “Just Say No,” American Psychological Association

By Mac McLean, freelance writer for Mennonite Insurance Services

A simple twist on an annual tradition of feeding local families, Mennonite Insurance Services helped provide a warm Thanksgiving meal to about 25 homeless San Joaquin Valley residents.

“They were like, ‘Wow, you brought us food,’” said Mary Lou Iniguez with Centro Christiano Familiar, a church that prepared the meals with Mennonite’s donation and delivered them to a camp in Parlier.

For the past four years, Mennonite employees purchased groceries for needy families during the Thanksgiving season. But they switched things up this year after Claudia Fletes, one of the company’s insurance agents, talked to Iniguez about her church’s homeless outreach program.

Staff used half the money to buy food for Centro Christiano’s outreach program. They purchased three turkeys, 20 pounds of potatoes, stuffing and gravy that Iniguez and fellow church members prepared the weekend before Thanksgiving and delivered to the homeless camp’s residents.

Their partnership and generosity do not end there. That’s because Mennonite Insurance staff will use the rest of the money to buy hats, gloves, toothbrushes and other necessities Iniguez will deliver to residents of the Parlier camp later this month.