Community orgs develop census strategy

I'd like to thank all the Public Allies, HSC staff and community members who turned out for our Spring Conversation Cafe about the 2010 Census. Our speakers--Ralph de la Portilla of the Census Bureau, Social Compact's John Talmage, Jackie Colon from the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and Miami-Dade County's Mercedez Rodriguez--did a great job presenting the importance of the census and the challenges Miami-Dade faces getting everyone counted.

As our guests pointed out, the federal government uses census date to allocate funding to education, transportation and other programs; supermarkets and other businesses use it to determine where they will place stores, and congressional districts are drawn based on population information. Unfortunately, not everyone participates in the census, resulting in an undercount that deprives our communities of greatly needed dollars.

What should you be telling your friends, family, constituents and clients about the census? "It's safe. It's easy. It's important." Census information is confidential and will not be shared with other government workers, such as immigration officials.

So, how can you get the word out?

• Distribute postcards or other materials explaining the importance of the census at your office, at events and through the mail.
• Educate your staff about the census.
• Add a tagline to every email message you send out that says, “Census 2010: It’s safe. It's easy. It's important.”
• Tell your friends, family members and coworkers about census jobs (For more information call 1-866-861-2010 or go to www.2010census.gov.)
• Promote the census through online social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
• Share resources about the census with local businesses, churches and other places in your community.

Have more ideas? Leave a comment or email me.