Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)
The ACP is an Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program that helps connect families and households struggling to afford internet service.
The Benefit provides:
Up to a $30/month discount for internet service
Up to $75/month discount for households on qualifying Tribal Lands
A one-time discount of up to$100 for a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet purchased through a participating provider
Affordable Connectivity Program
Digital Literacy Volunteer In-Service presentation by Lydia Torres
- Online Account and Application Record – An Excel spreadsheet to record online account information and to write progress notes
- Cover letter sample – A PDF that shows what an ideal cover letter looks like
- Cover letter template – A Word document that you can use to start a cover letter
- Resume sample – A PDF that shows what an ideal resume looks like
- Resume template – A Word document that you can fill in to create a resume
- Resume key words – A PDF that provides key words to use on resumes and in cover letters for different jobs
- Resume worksheet – A PDF document that can be printed and given to a customer before you start to create a resume
Resume Tips
- Where possible, show up to 10 years of continuous employment. It is the customer’s preference whether to show more
- Include volunteer positions under Professional Experience when there are employment gaps
- Parsers (algorithms) use a hierarchy that is based on employer preferences. That’s why it’s imperative to use key words and list career highlights and qualifications/skills at the top of the resume
- Write a resume around the job description
- Write different resumes for different jobs/industries
- Show on-going education and learning (this makes the resume stronger)
- Eliminate all spelling and factual errors
Cover Letter Tips
- Write different cover letters for different kinds of jobs
- Tell a story to show more than what the resume can tell alone
- Describe what you can offer a prospective employer
- Describe how the customer can help the employer to succeed
- Use the customer’s own words
Unemployment Resources
- NYS Dept of Labor account sign in, job information, job listings
- Unemployment Insurance (NYS Labor Dept) claim or certify benefits
- ID.me Unemployment verification
Local Employers in Onondaga County
- Wegmans
- Upstate University Health System
- Syracuse University
- St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center
- Crouse Hospital
- Loretto
- Lockheed Martin
- National Grid
Oneida, Madison, and Herkimer Counties
- Indium Corporation
- Price Chopper/Market 32
- Hannaford Markets
- Mohawk Valley Health System
- Munson Williams Proctor Institute (MWPI)
- Byrne Dairy
- National Grid
- SUNY Polytechnic Institute
- Colgate University
- Oneida Health Care
- Briggs and Straton
- Marquart
- SUNY Morrisville
Career Boards
New York State
- ACCES – Adult Career & Continuing Education Services
- ACCES-VR – Adult Career and Continuing Education Services (Vocational Rehabilitation)
Onondaga County
- OCM BOCES
- Syracuse Educational Opportunity Center
- Syracuse City School District Adult Ed/Sidney Johnson Vocational Center
- Onondaga County Public Libraries
Oneida, Madison, and Herkimer Counties
- Madison-Oneida BOCES
- Oneida-Madison-Herkimer BOCES
- Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Ostego BOCES
- The Center: Resource Center for Refugees in Mohawk Valley
- Rescue Mission of Utica
- Mohawk Valley Educational Opportunity Center
- Mohawk Valley Institute for Learning in Retirement
NYS Resources
- NYS Dept of Motor Vehicles – Register for a permit or license, renew your car registration, etc.
- NYS Medicaid – New York’s Medicaid program provides comprehensive health coverage to millions of lower-income New Yorkers
- NYState of Health Official Health Plan Market Place–Browse low-cost, quality health insurance options
- NYS Social Programs – Learn about Social Programs offered for low-income individuals/households, people with disabilities, and veterans
- NYS myBenefits – Create or login to your NYS benefits account to register for HEAP, SNAP, recertify your benefits, and more
- NYS ACCESS (Adult Career & Continuing Education Services) – Resources to serve the education and employment needs of adults in New York State
- Directory of all NYS Agencies – Locate the website, social media, and up-to-date contact for information for all NYS departments, agencies, and committees
- Directory of all NYS Services – Find out how to apply for and access services such as the Empire Pass, applying for the Excelsior Scholarship, or starting an LLC
Federal Resources
- Government Benefits, Grants, and Loans – Learn about government programs that provide fiancial help for inidivudals and organizations
- Medicare – Medicare is health insurance for people 65 or older. You’re first eligible to sign up for Medicare 3 months before you turn 65. You may be eligible to get Medicare earlier if you have a disability, End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), or ALS (also called Lou Gehrig’s disease).
Dial 211 for Essential Community Services
Onondaga County
- https://www.211cny.com/ – 211 is a free service that connects callers to critical health and human services in their community. Their navigator will provide resources that could help you or your client. If you’re unable to find a service, dial 2-1-1 for assistance. This website is for Onondaga County only.
Madison, Oneida, and Herkimer Counties
- https://www.211midyork.org/ –211 is a free service that connects callers to critical health and human services in their community. Their navigator will provide resources that could help you or your client. If you’re unable to find a service, dial 2-1-1 for assistance. This website is for Madison, Oneida, and Herkimer counties only.
Taxes
- NYS Dept of Taxation & Finance –Access tax information, file state returns, etc.
- Internal Revenue Service – Access tax information, account sign-in, file federal returns, etc.
You can find more resources for filing your taxes for free, and receiving free help filing your taxes under the “2023 Tax Resources” tab.
Utilities
- National Grid – Gas and electric company.
- Spectrum – Television, phone, and internet service provider
- Affordable Connectivity Program “Companies Near Me” Tool – Find out if a company in your area, or your current internet provider participates in the Affordable Connectivity Program. You can search using your Zip code or your city and state. If you would like to see the full list of options, click on “see the list of companies in your state” underneath the search results. Click here to learn more about the Affordable Connectivity Program and if you qualify.
Housing
US Department of Housing and Urban Development: New York Resources
Onondaga County
Madison County
Oneida County
Herkimer County
Email Security
Email is an old technology, and it is inherently flawed. Consider following these guidelines to make yourself and your personal information more secure. Consider using Gmail for your email account(s). It is less susceptible to spam and phishing than yahoo, Hotmail, Frontier, and AOL.
Recommendations for Keeping your Email Secure:
Passwords
- There are two ways to create an email password:
1) use a combination of lower and uppercase characters, special characters (&^%) and numbers;
2) create a long passphrase, a sentence or a phrase that includes a combination of upper- and lower-case letter, special characters, and punctuation (example: Syr@cusew1ntersarec0ld!)
Consider Using Two Email Accounts
- Consider using one email account for family/friends, and another account for all business transactions. Why? Some companies will sell your data, and having a second account limits your exposure.
Security Do’s
- If you suspect that your account with a business has been compromised, change your email password immediately.
- Change your password from time to time.
- Apply all software updates to your devices.
Security Don’ts
- Don’t send sensitive information by email.
- Don’t store sensitive information in cloud services like Evernote and Dropbox.
Email Spam
Definition: Spam is simply unsolicited emails sent to many recipients. For example, you book a hotel through Hotels.com and suddenly you’re receiving dozens of email promotions from hotels.com.
Remedies:
- Unsubscribe to company emails, at the bottom of the email you’ll find the unsubscribe link in small print.
- When you create accounts online, look for settings that allow you to regulate the emails you receive.
- Report the email as spam, your email provider will then prompt you to send future messages from the sender to your spam or junk folder, depending on your provider.
- Delete emails in your spam/junk folder. Remember first to review all emails in the folder, since some legitimate emails will end up there. When in doubt, report and delete.
Phishing
Definition: The fraudulent practice of attempting to acquire sensitive data or personal information including passwords, credit card numbers, etc. While phishing commonly occurs through email, phishing attempts are also made by phone, through text messages, and direct messages (aka DM’s) on social media. Sometimes, the phishing attempt appears to be from someone you know or from a company you’re doing business with.
How to Recognize Phishing
- Always check the email address of the sender. Many phishing attempts will make a subtle misspelling of a legitimate domain name. Example: A phishing email sent from someone pretending to represent Bank of America might have sent an email from ‘bank0farnerica.com.’ Did you notice that in ‘of’, the ‘o’ has been replaced with a zero, and that in America, the ‘m’ has been replaced by ‘rn?’
- Phishing messages often contain poor spelling and grammar, if the wording of an email claiming to be from a professional company and organization is suspicious, it is most likely a scam.
- Never click on a link or attachment in a suspicious email or text message, especially one from a first-time or infrequent sender. Phishing scams often claim that you should call, click, or open an attachment immediately to invoke fear or a sense of urgency.
- Always report phishing to your email provider, and block numbers that have sent phishing texts or made calls to your phone.
- Text or call the individual or company listed as the sender to verify the email is legitimate. Do not forward the email before verifying that it is legitimate.
Website Verification
Hackers and Cybersecurity professionals put a lot of time and effort into making fraudulent websites look as legitimate as possible. Here are some ways to check if a website it legitimate or trying to scam you.
Carefully Look at the Address bar and URL
- Be sure that the site is secured by looking at the address bar (URL) to see if there is an “s” in the URL, which should look like this “https://”to start with or has a lock symbol in the address bar. This does not guarantee against a scam site, but it shows that the site owner is using secured encryption processes to transfer data and protect itself from hackers.
Check the Contact Page
- Review the options for contacting the company. If you don’t see multiple options (phone, email, live chat, or physical address) then proceed with caution.
Review the Company’s Social Media Presence
- Most legitimate companies have some social media presence and activity. If you see the social media icons on their website, see if they link to a social media channel, and review the company reviews and see if you can find real employees of the company on LinkedIn.
Double Check The Domain Name
- Scammers will tend to create “similar” domain names to trick the user into thinking they are on a legit site, like Yah00.com or Amaz0b.net, making subtle changes that you may not even notice. Always double check the address bar to see if you have been redirected to a website that is not legitimate.
Look Up the Domain Age
- It is easy to look up the age of a website domain. Verifying the age of a site helps provide you with confidence that it has been in business for an established amount of time. Scam and fake sites usually have a short lifespan as they are rooted out early and shut down by legitimate business site owners.
Watch for Poor Grammar and Spelling
- Legitimate company websites will take great care in having a professional looking site. An excess of spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors could mean the website went up quickly. Occasional typos on a website can happen, but excessive errors could mean you are not on a legitimate site.
Walk Away If It’s Too Good to be True
- Though it is a common practice for some retailers to provide large price discounts on items to move inventory or promote a new product or service, if you find a site that offers an unbelievable deal, then think twice before continuing. If it’s too good to be true, then it probably isn’t legit.
Do Your Research
- A simple online search for the company’s reviews will tell you a lot about the business. See how recent the reviews are and if you see proactive responses from the company (where available.)
- Use the Better Business Bureauto research the reputation of a company.
Transferring Device Data
Move from Android to iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch – instructions from Apple on how to transfer data from an Android device to an iPhone
Move from iPhone to Android – instructions from Samsung on how to transfer data from an iPhone to an Android device
Android Resources
Samsung Support Page – a searchable page for operating all Samsung mobile devices, including set-up, basic operations, and advanced uses
Samsung User Manuals – provides links to the PDFs of all Samsung mobile device models, and provides instructions on how to access the user manual on your phone
iPhone Resources
iPhone User Guide – a searchable user guide on learning the basic of operating an iPhone
iPhone support page – a page of various weblinks for different iPhone uses including how to back up your data, managing your Apple ID, etc.
Apple’s iPhone Forum – a community forum for troubleshooting iPhone devices
iPad Resources
iPad User Guide – a searchable user guide on learning the basic of operating an iPad
iPad Support Page – a page of various weblinks for different iPhone uses including how to back up your data, managing your Apple ID, etc.
Apple’s iPad Forum – a community forum for troubleshooting iPad devices
Chromebook Resources
New to Chromebook – Switch to a Chromebook, Set up your Chromebook, Migrate from Cloud Print, Set up your printer, Chromebook security
Chromebook accessibility – Find accessibility features
Chromebook shortcuts – Chromebook keyboard shortcuts
Chromebook support – Chromebook help
Tax Resources
NYS Department of Taxation and Finance
US Bureau of Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Filing Your Taxes Independently for Free:
NYS partners with the Free File Alliance to offer options to e-file your federal and New York State income tax returns—at no cost.
Am I eligible?
- If your 2021 income is $73,000 or less, you may be eligible to file for free using one of their software providers.
Important: The income limits noted for each vendor refer to your federal adjusted gross income. Federal adjusted gross income (AGI) is defined as gross income minus adjustments to income. Gross income includes your wages, dividends, capital gains, business income, retirement distributions, as well as other income. For more information, visit the IRS at Definition of Adjusted Gross Income.
OLT-OnLine Taxes
You qualify to use this software provider at no cost if:
- your federal adjusted gross income (AGI) is between $16,000 and $73,000 regardless of age, or
- your federal AGI was $73,000 or less and you served as Active Duty Military (including Reservists and National Guard).
OLT-OnLine Taxes must be accessed through the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance website, or you will not be able to take advantage of NYS’s Free File Alliance partnership and may be charged a fee.
FreeTaxUSA
You qualify to use this software provider at no cost if:
- your federal adjusted gross income (AGI) is $41,000 or less, or
- your federal AGI was $73,000 or less and you served as Active Duty Military (including Reservists and National Guard).
FreeTaxUSA must be accessed through the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance website, or you will not be able to take advantage of NYS’s Free File Alliance partnership and may be charged a fee.
TaxSlayer
You qualify to use this software provider at no cost if:
- your federal adjusted gross income (AGI) is $39,000 or less, or
- your federal AGI was $73,000 or less and you served as Active Duty Military (including Reservists and National Guard).
TaxSlayer must be accessed through the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance website, or you will not be able to take advantage of NYS’s Free File Alliance partnership and may be charged a fee.
Have Your Taxes Prepared for You for Free:
The IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs offer free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals.
VITA sites offer free tax help to people who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns, including:
- People who generally make $60,000 or less
- Persons with disabilities; and
- Limited English-speaking taxpayers
TCE offers free tax help, particularly for those who are 60 years of age and older, specializing in questions about pensions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors.
VITA and TCE sites can be located with the IRS VITA/TCE Locator Tool or by calling 800-227-7669
AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Locator – AARP Foundation Tax-Aide provides in-person and virtual tax assistance free of charge with a special focus on taxpayers who are over 50 or have low-to-moderate income. Tax-Aide volunteers are located nationwide and are trained and IRS-certified every year.
PEACE INC. Free Tax Prep Program – PEACE, Inc. Free Tax Prep offers FREE Federal and NYS income tax preparation to income eligible individuals in Central NY. Service is provided by appointment only.
Other Useful Sites and Information:
MyFreeTaxes – MyFreeTaxes helps people file their federal and state taxes for free, and it’s brought to you by United Way.
GetYourRefund – GetYourRefund is a free virtual service supported by the IRS, U.S. Department of Treasury, and the White House that helps low-income households across America receive high quality tax services from the convenience of your home.