Everyone Counts the Same. This is the message in Denver as the city’s Complete Count Committee gears up for the 2010 Census – less than one year away. To get started the group is stressing the importance and impact of a complete and accurate count of Denver’s citizens.
And what better way to reach out than through the children. The Complete Count Committee took a party to Place Bridge Academy , a Denver Public School where 37 different languages are spoken – making it the ideal place to explain the importance of the census to immigrant, refugee, and minority families – which are typically the hardest populations to accurately count.
“This is a beautiful school because this is exactly what Denver looks like, this is exactly what Colorado looks like, this is exactly what America looks like,” said Councilman Paul Lopez “And we need to make sure that when the census comes around to take a picture of who we are, this is what we want to show them!”
Speakers from throughout the community explained that every person counts the same because the population tally determines funding for critical community services as well as representation in government.
Cathy Lacy Illian, the Regional Census Director, asked students to “send this message back to your parents. You can make a difference; by investing 10 minutes to complete 10 questions to invest in the next ten years of your community. How large of an investment is that? Is it a worthwhile investment? Yes, absolutely!”
Approximately 300 –billion dollars in federal funding is distributed to communities each year. If the population is not accurately counted, Denver might not get the funds to match our community needs
To drive home the point – students stepped up to make themselves heard – by saying “We are here because we count.” each in their native languages.