PENNSYLVANIA COUNTS. AND SO DO YOU.
Census Day is April 1, 2020!
PLEDGE TO BE COUNTED!
DOWNLOAD A BULLETIN INSERT
The Census is a constitutionally mandated count of all people residing in the US. It is meant to count all people regardless of race, faith tradition, immigration status or economic status, and occurs every 10 years.
NOTE: The 2020 Census is Confidential—Don’t Be Scammed!
Why is the Census important?
The U.S. Constitution requires a census of all residents in the entire country every 10 years. The census counts every person living in the U.S. once (and only once) in the right place. You are counted based on where you are living on April 1, 2020.
Everyone Counts
You might be living in an apartment, house, group housing situation (like a dorm or nursing home). You might be experiencing homelessness. Regardless of your living situation, you count as a Pennsylvanian. It also doesn’t matter what your citizenship status is, how old you are, or your gender. If you live here, you matter to Pennsylvania and the census.
Fair Representation
Neighborhoods change over time. The census makes note of these demographic changes and reports the statistics. This information is then used to determine how many seats each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives. Pennsylvania currently has 18 Congressional representatives. We used to have 19 but lost a seat after the 2010 Census.
Additionally, state officials use the statistics produced by the decennial census to redraw U.S. congressional and state legislative districts.
Federal Spending & Programs
Census data are used to decide how $675 billion in federal public funding is spent every year. Pennsylvania gets $26.8 billion annually through our 16 largest federally-funded programs. That’s about $2,000 per Pennsylvanian each year.
These numbers may change based on our 2020 Census data. Federal funding supports many important programs and services for Pennsylvanians, including in healthcare, food security, education, transportation, housing, community development, support for families, and more.
We ALL count in the eyes of God—let’s ALL count in the eyes of our government!
Important Resources
Keystone Counts: https://www.keystonecounts.org/
- What’s at stake: https://www.keystonecounts.org/whats-at-stake
- New challenges: https://www.keystonecounts.org/new-challenges-for-2020
- Who might be missed? https://www.keystonecounts.org/who-might-be-missed
- Pledge to be counted: https://www.keystonecounts.org/pledge
Pennsylvania Census 2020: https://www.pa.gov/Census/
- Why your response matters: https://www.pa.gov/census/your-response-matters/
- Data privacy & security: https://www.pa.gov/census/privacy-security/
- How and where to respond: https://www.pa.gov/census/how-when-to-respond/
- How it supports your community: https://www.pa.gov/census/support-your-community/
- PA Census Power Point presentation: PA Census-Presentation-Deck
- Key Messages & Talking Points: https://www.pa.gov/census/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Census-Key-Messages-and-Talking-Points-for-PA-1.pdf
- Outreach materials (posters, flyers, etc.): https://www.pa.gov/census/outreach-materials/
United States Census 2020: https://2020Census.gov/
Links (with further links to resources) include:
- Get the Facts
- How to Respond
- Why Your Answers Matter
- Privacy and Security
If you would like to become a partner: https://2020census.gov/en/partners.html
Faith in Public Life: https://www.faithinpubliclife.org/census
You can:
- Become a Census ambassador
- Host a Census Sabbath
- Download a Census toolkit
- Visit the Resource Hub
- Check out Census Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
If you have trouble finding something you need, contact us: s.strauss@pachurches.org or 717-545-4761, ext. 3