Weehawken, New Jersey (April 20, 2010) – The Company Store, a home brand known for its comfort, design and value since 1911, announced today the launch of their “Ultimate Slumber Party” video contest. Geared towards college students, ages 17 to 22, the contest requires participants to write, perform and upload a video of an original, rockin’ lullaby for a chance to win a bevy of prizes including scholarships and dorm room makeovers with bedding from the company’s new campus collection, launching April 20, 2010.

College students account for more than $50 billion in spending annually, and when it comes to decorating their first living space, the dorm room, they are making most of the purchasing decisions. “Our goal with this campaign is to bring awareness of our brand to this audience while providing these hardworking students with a fun, engaging outlet to express themselves through music and dorm room decor,” says Francie Nguyen, President of The Company Store.

The Company Store’s “Ultimate Slumber Party” micro site, www.ultimateslumberparty.com, will launch April 20, 2010, and participants can submit videos through June 31, 2010. All entries will be reviewed by a panel of executives from The Company Store and will be judged on set criteria including cleverness, humor, and most importantly, originality.

Five winners will be selected. Two runners-up will receive a room makeover kit; the second prize winner will receive a room makeover kit plus $500 to apply towards course books; and the first prize winner will receive a $5,000 scholarship and room makeover kit. One grand prize winner and three of their closest friends will celebrate with the ultimate slumber party in Panama City Beach, Florida.

The Grand Prize package includes air and hotel suite for 5 days/4 nights*, food and back-to-school care packages. The hotel suite will be re-outfitted with The Company Store’s new campus collection and the winner and their friends will have a front row seat, or bed, for a private musical performance of the winning rockin’ lullaby. Additionally, the winner’s video will be prominently displayed on the The Company Store’s main web site, which receives 600,000 unique visitors monthly.

To enter, log on to www.ultimateslumberparty.com. To schedule an interview with a representative from The Company Store, please contact Lance Buckley at 212.243.1431 or lance@piercemattie.com.

* Winner to select dates before May 31, 2011.

About The Company Store
The Company Store, known for its comfort, design and value since 1911, offers top quality, down comforters and pillows, sheets, towels, and home accessories. The best-selling, American-made LaCrosse Comforter offers unique craftsmanship ensuring the ultimate in sleeping comfort, a lifetime guarantee and is available in a full palette of fashion colors. Other top collections include wrinkle-free bedding, fashion quilts, and a bamboo collection that features sheets, towels, blankets and loungewear. The Company Store offers extensive monogramming, and other custom services in their LaCrosse, Wisconsin factory. The Company Store sells its merchandise through catalogs and online at www.thecompanystore.com.

CONTACT: Monica Zimmer

301 987 4461

monica.zimmer@sodexo.com

Chefs create peanut-butter and jelly cuisine to reduce carbon, water and land use

GAITHERSBURG, Md., April 19, 2010 — Choosing just one all plant-based meal on April 22 could make a big difference to the planet. So says Sodexo Inc., a leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions, who is asking its 10 million U.S. customers to eat low on the food chain this Earth Day. To inspire the change, Sodexo chefs are cooking up new ways to serve the classic peanut butter and jelly combination.

Environmental advocates estimate that Sodexo’s PB&J For A Day campaign could save 1.3 billion gallons of water, 12,400 tons of carbon emissions and about 5,500 acres of land if all of the 10 million served daily by Sodexo choose one plant-based meal.

Customers at Sodexo-served college campuses, corporate cafés, hospitals, and senior residences will be given the option to choose a plant-based protein meal on Earth Day in the fun form of creative peanut-butter and jelly cuisine. Sodexo’s Earth Day menu choices will include: Fluffer Nutter Club Sandwich, Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana with Chocolate Chips, Toasted Peanut Butter Baguettes with Jelly Dipping Sauce, Peanut Butter Pancakes with Jelly Syrup, and for dessert customers can try the PB&J Sweet Shot or a PB&J Muffin. You can find the recipes and cooking demonstration videos online.

For this campaign, Sodexo is partnering with the PB&J Campaign, a project of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE). The PB&J Campaign approaches positive change one meal at a time by illuminating the differences one single dining decision can make. Eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead of a hamburger for a simple reason: one sandwich can save 133 gallons of water and 24 square feet of land over a burger, and each one served will save 2.5 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, which is the same benefit as driving a hybrid car for half a day.

The company recently announced broad and detailed commitments for sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The Better Tomorrow Plan adds a global approach to Sodexo’s continuing commitment to improving the quality of daily life for customers in three key areas of the environment, health and wellness, and community development.

Sodexo in North America
Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), a member of Sodexo Group, is a leading provider of Comprehensive Service Solutions serving more than ten million customers daily in corporations, health care, long term care, retirement, schools, higher education, government and remote sites. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., Sodexo, Inc. operates in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with $7.7 billion (USD) in annual revenue and 120,000 employees. The Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org) is an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $12.7 million in grants to fight hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at www.sodexoUSA.com/blog.

Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions
Quality of Life plays an important role in the progress of individuals and the performance of organizations.  Based on this conviction, Sodexo is the strategic partner for companies and institutions that place a premium on performance and well-being, as it has since Pierre Bellon founded the company in 1966. Sharing the same passion for service, Sodexo’s 380,000 employees, in 80 countries design, manage and deliver an unrivaled range of On-site Service Solutions and Motivation Solutions. Sodexo has created a new form of service business that contributes to the economic, social and environmental development of the communities, regions and countries in which it operates and to the fulfillment of its employees.

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Winning Team to Be Announced May 10th

NEW YORK – April 19, 2010 – Across the U.S., entries have been created and posted for “Pearson Presents the (RED) Challenge,” through which Principles of Marketing students have the opportunity to help fight AIDS in Africa. Starting today, the voting is now open to the public to help select the top ten entries.

Sponsored by Pearson, the authors of Marketing: Real People, Real Choices – Michael R. Solomon, Greg W. Marshall, Elnora W. Stuart – and (RED), the contest asked Principles of Marketing students to create their own marketing plans for a product targeted to college students that would fit into the (RED) product line and that would help raise awareness of and drive contributions to (RED)’s mission to help fight AIDS in Africa. Participating students pitched their proposed products in short videos, submitted to and now viewable on the contest’s Facebook site, apps.facebook.com/redcontest/contests/19255.

The public can now view and vote on the video entries through April 25th, to select the top ten submissions, which will then be reviewed by (RED) representatives. The Grand Prize winning team will be announced on May 10th, and the winning students and their professor will be flown to New York to present their submission to the (RED) team.

About Pearson
Pearson (NYSE:PSO), the global leader in education, teacher training, education technology and school solutions, provides innovative print and digital education materials for preK through college, student information systems and learning management systems, teacher professional development, career certification programs, and testing and assessment products that set the standard for the industry.

About (RED)™and (PRODUCT) RED™
(RED)’s primary objective is to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds for the Global Fund, to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Companies whose products take on the (PRODUCT) RED mark contribute a significant percentage of the sales or portion of the profits from that product to the Global Fund to help finance AIDS programs in Africa, with an emphasis on the health of women and children. Current partners are: American Express (U.K. only), Apple, Bugaboo, Converse, Gap, Emporio Armani, FLOWE(RED) (U.K. only), Hallmark (US only), Dell, Nike, and Starbucks. Since its launch in the Spring of 2006, $140 million has been generated by (RED) partners and events for the Global Fund. (RED) money is at work in Swaziland, Rwanda, Ghana, and Lesotho and supports programs that have reached more than 5 million people. For more information, visit www.joinred.com.

About The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The Global Fund is a unique global public/private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases.

Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the dominant financier of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, with approved funding of US$ 19.3 billion in 144 countries. To date, programs supported by the Global Fund have averted more than 4.9 million deaths through providing AIDS treatment for 2.5 million people, TB treatment for 6 million people, and by the distribution of 104 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria worldwide. The Global Fund provides nearly a quarter of all international financing for AIDS globally, as well as three-fifths for TB and malaria. (RED)™ is the Global Fund’s largest private sector contributor. For more information visit www.theglobalfund.org.

Contact:
Susan Aspey
Pearson
susan.aspey@pearson.com
800.745.8489

LOS ANGELES, April 14, 2010 – Ever since the advent of the Choose Your Own Adventure books, Interactive Cinema has been on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Hollywood has yet to discover what to do with it or how to even create it.

One of the most unique pictures of the year, The Weathered Underground did not come from a major studio, but instead a small team of guys working on a budget of $70,000 in the basements of Los Angeles and a half vacant stem cell research lab in Pasadena to create the most ambitious interactive feature film to date.

The live action film features literally hundreds of choices, dozens of endings and can be played for more than 4 & 1/2 hours without getting the same plotline. With its eye popping comic book aesthetic, the film stars Michael Ciriaco and Brea Grant (Daphne from NBC’s Heroes) and features a live performance by indie rock underground superstars, The Lashes.

In a time where it is a rarity for films made on budgets of less than one million dollars to ever see the light of day, The Weathered Underground’s interactive format, scathing sense of humor and aggressive voice was able to break through. The film is now available on DVD at Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, Netflix, Blockbuster, FYE, Hastings and will be available as an iphone / itouch app in May.

Included in the press kit is Mr. Donihue’s hilarious production journal. It chronicles the making of an interactive picture and demonstrates how a small group of underground filmmakers took a micro-budget project from concept to completion, finally earning themselves a nationwide commercial release.

Official website – www.theweatheredunderground.com/

Download press kit (includes photos and Donihue’s own production journal and behind the scenes story) here: www.theweatheredunderground.com/presskit/weatheredundergroundpresskit.zip

TO REQUEST A COPY OF THE FILM PLEASE EMAIL largerthanlifeprfeed@publicist.com WITH YOUR MAILING ADDRESS.

Writer / Director David N. Donihue and actor Michael Ciriaco are available for interviews.

Contact

Jennifer Greene
Larger Than Life PR Feed
largerthanlifeprfeed@publicist.com

Job Genius helps students create, improve, and publish résumés – and identify job matches via best-fit technology

Monte Sereno, CA- April 13, 2010– Veechi Corp. — developers of the “Veechi Classes” Facebook application — today released Job Genius™, the first cloud tool to help college students create a professional résumé with input from invited members of their Facebook circle.

Job Genius guides students through their résumé with directions and suggestions for completion. It automatically transfers relevant information from a student’s Facebook profile to the résumé. The student can invite any member of his or her social circle to comment on the résumé, and then accept or ignore any edits. The completed résumé can be downloaded as a PDF file to be printed or posted at job sites.

Many college students have never created a résumé and few are experienced résumé writers, so students often omit information important to employers. With Job Genius’ directed suggestions, students include the most relevant information. With social editing, peers and mentors can help make an adequate resume outstanding and with Job Genius’ automated formatting, the resulting résumé is professional in every respect.

In addition to creating the resume, Job Genius searches major job sites, presents the student with currently available positions that match his or her background, and allows the student to identify opportunities from within his Facebook group. The National Association of Colleges and Employers projects that hiring for the Class of 2010 will be seven percent (7%) below 2009. Major employers are scaling back on-campus recruiting efforts and college career centers are facing increasing constraints as university budgets are slashed. In this difficult environment, Job Genius produces a better résumé and identifies well-suited opportunities.

“Job Genius was perfect,” said Sean McMahon, a student at UC Berkeley. “It automatically filled in part of my résumé, and then reminded me to include some things that I would have forgotten. I invited five friends and one professor to help me with it, and three people did. It turned my résumé information into a great looking PDF file that I can upload to job sites, and it showed me some jobs from those sites.”

Human resource professionals and career counselors are also pleased with the performance and functionality of Job Genius. “We’re struck by the poor résumé quality of otherwise highly qualified students,” said Heather Laing, Manager of College Recruiting for VMware. “Students frequently forget to include very relevant information that only gets noted during an interview, if at all. Many students in the US get passed over due to an inadequate résumé, students who would otherwise earn an interview and possibly a job. Job Genius addresses the core issues that plague student résumés.”

Santina Pitcher, Employer Relations Coordinator and Career Counselor at California State University – East Bay, said “Our students are well prepared when they graduate, but typically don’t know the best way to market their best skills in this competitive job market. Veechi Job Genius helps a student stand out with a résumé that best highlights their strengths, giving them the competitive edge.”

Job Genius is available today at http://www.veechi.com/jobgenius at no cost to students who enroll in 2010.

Veechi Classes, the popular and free Facebook application for college student success, connects directly to Job Genius and is available at http://www.facebook.com/veechi.

About Veechi Corp.
Veechi Corp., a venture capital backed Silicon Valley firm, is the “college success platform™,” helping students “conquer” college with a socially-powered productivity platform. Veechi Classes has been called one of “10 Facebook apps that teach you something” by CNET. Veechi was named a finalist in the fbFund competition run by Accel Partners and Founders Fund that identified the Top 50 Facebook applications. For more information, visit www.veechi.com.

“Veni. . . Vidi. . .Veechi” – “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.

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Contact Information:
Veechi Corp.
Monte Sereno, CA 95030
Peter Levy, CEO
peter@veechi.com
Or
Bob Citelli
rcitelli@cintara.com
408 399 9771

For Immediate Release April 12, 2010

Contact: Yisel Cabrera
Director of Programs & Operations

(202) 347-8280

Summer Madrid Program Aims to Provide Global Leadership Experience for American Students from Diverse Backgrounds

WASHINGTON, DC – The Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI) and PromoMadrid invite qualified students who are currently in their last year of their undergraduate or studying a Post Graduate Program in an accredited four year University, from throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, to apply for the 2010 CHLI-Madrid Program: Gateway to Madrid Summer Internship Program.

Seven to ten students from diverse backgrounds will be selected to become part of this intensive six-week summer internship program in Madrid, Spain. Successful interns will first participate in a one week immersion course that will focus on Spanish culture, economy, and politics which will then be followed by a five week placement with a sponsoring Madrid-based company. The CHLI-Madrid Program aims to provide a unique and enriching practical work experience for bilingual American student leaders in one of Europe’s main economic hubs, the Regional Community of Madrid.

This initiative is financially backed by PromoMadrid and managed by CHLI, who will be responsible for all aspects related to the students’ internship, training, housing & travel while living in Madrid.

The application deadline is Monday, May 3, 2010. The program begins June 14 and ends July 30, 2010. Applications can be downloaded from the CHLI website at www.chli.org.

To apply, applicants must:
• Be U.S. citizens, bilingual in English and Spanish.
• Have a valid U.S. Passport.
• Be enrolled in an accredited four year college/university.
• Submit a completed application form, personal statement in English and Spanish, curriculum vitae, two letters of recommendation and official transcripts.

Compensation:
• Airfare and housing accommodations in Madrid, Spain.
• Stipend for living expenses
• Health insurance

For more information please contact Yisel Cabrera, Director of Programs and Operations, Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute at ycabrera@chli.org or at 202-347-8280 Ext. 303.

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About CHLI:
The Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI, pronounced “chili”) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization, based in Washington, D.C., that advances the diversity of thought in U.S. Hispanic community in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, as well as in the international community. For more information, please visit www.chli.org. You may also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About PromoMadrid:
PromoMadrid, Desarrollo Internacional de Madrid, S.A. is a regional government-owned company, incorporated in 2004 with the purpose of promoting and developing the Region of Madrid internationally from an economic perspective. PromoMadrid acts under the authority of the Madrid Regional Ministry of Economy and Finance Affairs. Visit www.promomadrid.com.

ARLINGTON, VA, April 12, 2010 - Freshman year. Final exams. Life after graduation. The pressures of college transitions involve many competing demands, including in some cases, mental health concerns.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has launched StrengthofUs.org, a new online community where young adults, ages 18-25, can provide mutual support in navigating challenges and opportunities before, during and after the college years.

“Young adulthood is an exciting challenge, but also a confusing and stressful time for anyone,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, NAMI executive director. “Life can throw things at you fast.”

Developed by college students and other young adults, StrengthofUs.org is a user-driven social networking community where a person can connect with peers, share personal stories, creativity and helpful resources by writing and responding to blog entries, engaging in discussion groups and sharing videos, photos and other news.  It offers resources on:

• Mental health issues
• Healthy relationships
• Family and friends
• Campus life
• Independent living
• Finances
• Employment
• Housing

“StrengthofUs.org is about helping and inspiring each other,” said Alex White, age 23, a member of the advisory group who helped develop the site. “I would not be alive today if it had not been for the love, care and support I received from family, friends and loved ones.”

A Montana State University graduate, White was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 13. He attempted suicide before gaining control of the illness, but now leads a happy, productive life in New York City. He has made an award-winning short film, Une Vignette de Melancolie, about depression that has played internationally.

On April 21, the site will host a “launch party” featuring a remix of the song “Goodmorning” from the upcoming Derivatives album by William Fitzsimmons, who worked helping people with mental illness before turning a passion for music into his profession. He was named an iTunes Best Singer-Songwriter for his album The Sparrow and the Crow and his music has been featured on the television show Grey’s Anatomy.

The launch coincides with the recent deaths of three students from suicides at Cornell University and reports of increasing cases of depression and anxiety on college campuses nationwide.

“I think that depression and suicide are the largest health issues facing college students at this time,” said Alan Glass, director of St..Louis’s Washington University student health services and American College Health Association board member, in an interview with the school’s independent student newspaper.

NAMI created the StrengthofUs community through the support of the Rodwell Dart Memorial Foundation, established by Hailey Dart, in loving memory of her son, Roddy, who lost his life at age 22.

About NAMI

NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. NAMI has over 1100 state and local affiliates that engage in research, education, support and advocacy.

Contact

Christine Armstrong

christinea@nami.org

(703) 312-7893

www.nami.org

www.twitter.com/namicommunicate

www.facebook.com/officialNAMI

www.strengthofus.org

Hyperlocal Online Classifieds Site Wants to Save Thousands of Abandoned Couches Lining City, Town and Campus Streets Each Spring During Moving Exodus

NAPERVILLE, Ill.—April 12, 2010— A sad and disturbing crisis that ravages cities and towns across America is about to strike again: Couch Abandonment. Each spring and early summer during the moving exodus from campuses and cities, the phenomenon occurs nationwide. Thousands of abandoned couches line sidewalks and pile up forgotten around dumpsters, waiting to end up in land fills. In an effort to stop Couch Abandonment, AmericanListed.com, a free, hyperlocal online classifieds site, is launching a contest for college students and anyone who is moving to share their story of why their couches deserve to be saved and have a chance at a new life. Check out the Couch Abandonment Contest video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcksdAWj9TA.

Simple and easy rules for the contest:

• To enter, applicants must submit either a video (no more than two minutes) or a written testimonial with a photo (no more than 250 words) explaining why their beloved couches deserve to be saved from abandonment. Videos and testimonials will be posted on AmericanListed.com each week.
• During the first few weeks of the contest, AmericanListed.com will award a weekly prize of an iPod to a contest winner. The grand prize winner will win a new couch to take home to their new living space.

To enter the contest or check out posted applicant videos and testimonials, please visit www.AmericanListed.com or http://couch.americanlisted.com. Also follow AmericanListed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/americanlisted for contest updates.

“With Couch Abandonment a major concern in cities across America from Boston to San Francisco and towns from State College to College Station, AmericanListed.com is dedicated to putting a stop to the crisis and giving these couches the chance for a new home and life,” said Thomas Westling, president of AmericanListed.com. “AmericanListed.com offers college students and all movers an easy, safe and family-friendly place to post their old couches and other unwanted items online for sale, as well as look for new items to purchase or exchange. We hope Americans will join us in our effort to end Couch Abandonment.”

About AmericanListed
AmericanListed, founded in 2007, is a free online classified advertisements website that provides U.S. residents with a simple and safe way to sell and buy products and services within their own residential area/city. The site’s local reach offers users the ability to list and search classified ads in all states, all cities and all zip codes in the United States.

Contacts:
Paul DiPerna or Scott Love
Schwartz Communications
781-684-0770
americanlisted@schwartz-pr.com

New Grad Filter to Provide Relevant Jobs to Recent Graduates

Mountain View, CA – April 6, 2010 – Simply Hired, the largest job search engine and recruitment advertising network, today announced the launch of its newest specialty filter for “New Graduate” jobs. This filter is designed to serve the thousands of expected college graduates entering today’s competitive workforce.

SimplyHired.com announces the New Graduate job filter just in time for students to begin their job search before graduation. This filter will allow job seekers, specifically recent graduates with limited to no work experience, to view jobs nationwide relevant to their experience level. It will offer recent grads an easy way to filter through the three million job listings on SimplyHired.com to find positions that are relevant to their majors and fit their skills.

“According to a SimplyHired.com poll, 78 percent of job seekers graduate without a job at the time of commencement, so we’re proud to aid new graduates in their job search with a relevant tool,” said Andrew Chen, Sr. Product Manager, Simply Hired. “Entry level jobs are out there; new graduates just need help finding them.”

Along with the New Graduate filter, Simply Hired also offers a “Share” feature which enables job seekers to share jobs through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and email. By socializing job search, users can easily and quickly network and share jobs with their community, as well as receive referrals and find unknown connections.

The New Graduate filter further strengthens Simply Hired’s mission to personalize job search by giving recent graduate job seekers a comprehensive view of all the jobs available in an easy and efficient manner.

About Simply Hired
With more than five million job listings worldwide, Simply Hired is the world’s largest job search engine and recruitment advertising network. The company powers jobs on over 10,000 network partner sites such as LinkedIn, Plaxo, CNNMoney, BusinessWeek and The Washington Post. It operates global sites in 19 countries and ten languages on five continents. Simply Hired has been lauded as one of the “50 Coolest Websites” by Time magazine, a “Top 100 Website” by PC Magazine and the “Best of the Web” by BusinessWeek. Simply Hired has raised $22.3 million in funding from venture and individual investors including Foundation Capital, IDG Ventures and News Corporation. The company is privately held and is based in Mountain View, California.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today offered a tax tip to college students and first-time filers: use IRS Free File to prepare and file their federal tax return. This and other suggestions can help new tax filers avoid the April 15 rush and maybe even get any refund due within 10 days.

Filing a federal return may seem like a daunting task for a first-time filer but it is made much easier with tax software such as Free File, a service offered by the IRS and private-sector partners that allows everyone to prepare and electronically file their federal tax return for free.

New taxpayers can check out Free File at www.irs.gov/freefile where they can review about 20 software options. Each participating tax preparation software company sets its own eligibility but anyone making $57,000 or less can find at least one option. The software follows an easy-to-use format that asks questions and completes the appropriate tax form based on answers.

An online tool, Help Me Find a Free File Company, will help identify those companies that match the taxpayer’s criteria. Want to know more? There’s a new how-to video available at www.freefile.irs.gov. Also, each Free File software company has links to the 20 states that offer their versions of Free File.

There are two formats to federal Free File: Traditional Free File, which is the step-by-step software offered by participating companies, and Free File Fillable Forms, which is the electronic version of IRS paper forms that do simple math. There is no income limitation for Free File Fillable Forms but it is the best option for people comfortable doing their own tax return. Either format is free and allows for free electronic filing.

Other suggestions:

• Check with your parents: Depending upon the circumstances, they may still be eligible to claim you as a dependent. Your parents can claim you or you can claim yourself, but not both. So, talk over your taxes before you start.
• File a return: If you had federal taxes withheld from your paycheck in 2009, you should file a tax return – even if you are not required. There’s a good chance you could get a refund.
• Use Direct Deposit: When you combine direct deposit with e-file you can get your refund in as few as 10 days.
• Gather records: Employees will receive a Form W-2, a statement for your income and taxes withheld. You still must report all your income, including tips. Remember, all income is taxable unless exempted by Congress. By the way, good recordkeeping throughout the year makes this whole tax preparation process a lot easier. See Taxable Income for Students.
• Grants, scholarships and fellowships: Amounts spent on room and board may be taxable while the money spent for tuition, books and fees may be exempt. ROTC allowances are not taxable, but ROTC active duty payments are taxable. See Tax Information for Students.
• Expanded education credits: The new American Opportunity Credit provides a maximum $2,500 credit for tuition, books and fees. Heads up: If your parents claim you as a dependent, they get to take the credit. Otherwise, you get to take the credit in most cases. For details, see Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education.
• Only the person who made the tuition expenditure can claim this credit. So, if your parents are footing your bill, they get to claim the credit.
• Recovery Tax Credits: In addition to education credits, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided new benefits for homebuyers, energy upgrades, new vehicle owners and workers through the Making Work Pay Tax Credit. See www.irs.gov/recovery for more details.
• Earned Income Tax Credit: If you’re 25 or older, you may be eligible even if you have no children. See www.irs.gov/eitc for details.
• Save a little; spend a little: Another new provision this year lets you also use your refund to purchase U.S. Savings Bonds.

Have more questions? Visit www.irs.gov and check out 1040 Central, a one-stop stop for your tax needs. The IRS Web site has answers to frequently asked questions, tax tips and you can even track your refund.  And remember, you must go through IRS.gov to be eligible for Free File offerings.

One last suggestion: Don’t wait until April 15. There is no need to cram or panic. You should just take your time, use Free File and do it right. Help is available if you need it.

Editors: Need more information? Contact your local IRS spokesperson for more details. Click here to embed an April 15 tax count-down widget.

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