Love this post on "Mythbusting: The 2010 Census" by weloveDC. They caught up with Maurice Henderson, the director of DC Counts, to help bust Census-related myths and why the Census is important. It's not just about representation folks. It provides statistical information for programs and projects. The federal government hands out large quantities of cash based on the census data. The Brookings Instituation broke down the data for fiscal year 2008, and DC's share was $2.7 billion – or $4,656 per resident, per year. That’s a lot of money.
Another reason to care? Private businesses use census data for marketing and business expansion. If you want another coffee shop or some other type of business in the neighborhood, those businesses need to know where potential customers live.
So fill out your census already! And if you haven't gotten it yet, don't despair, it's coming!
Other ways to get involved:
Participate in the “Portraits of DC” photo contest.
Interact with the DC Counts campaign via social media – find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/DC_Counts or check out census.dc.gov.
Attend the National Census Day rally, hosted by Congresswoman Norton, at Freedom Plaza on April 1st. More details coming on that soon.
Keep an eye out for volunteer opportunities for census outreach, particularly on April 10th! The U.S. Census Bureau is planning to hold a final canvassing push called “March to the Mailbox” on that day. This will be potentially hundreds of people heading out in various neighborhoods in the District based on the rolling response rates to more strongly encourage their family, friends and neighbors that may not have filled out the form to do so. More details will be forthcoming soon.
For census jobs, you can call 1-866-861-2010, or visit the Census jobs site.
