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Every household should have their Census 2020 Invitation to participate.    Why complete the Census?  Ivy Oliver of One Sumter shared the following information to help our community understand the importance of the Census:

What is Census 2020?

• The 2020 Census counts every person living in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories.
• The United States has counted its population every 10 years since the first census in 1790.
• The 2020 Census will be the first year you can fill out your census online.
• The census website is safe, secure and confidential.

Why is the Census important?

• The census provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, teachers, and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support for you and your community.
• The results of the census also determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives, and they are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts.

Who Counts?

• If you are filling out the census for your home, you should count everyone who is living there as of April 1, 2020.
• This includes anyone who is living and sleeping there most of the time, including children.

How does this impact Georgia and Sumter County?

• The federal government distributes over $675 billion dollars to states based on the population for healthcare, food, education, and roads. Key programs using census data to drive funding are:
  • Federal Medical Assistance Programs (FMAP)
  • The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
  • Medicare Part B
  • Highway Planning and Construction
  • The Federal Pell Grant Program
• Georgia’s rural assistance programs received more than $1.4 billion annually in the federal FY 2016.
• A complete and accurate count is critical, because the results of the 2020 Census will affect community funding, congressional representation (and more!) for the next ten years!
• For every person counted, from infants to young children to older adults, the State of Georgia receives more than $2,300 from the federal government. This amount adds up to more than $20 billion annually towards programs that benefit Georgians like you. The more people counted, the more money each community stands to receive.

How do you participate?

• By April 1, 2020, every home will receive an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census. You will have three options for responding:
  • Online
  • By phone
  • By mail
• The 2020 Census marks the first time you’ll have the option to respond online – and it takes about 10 minutes to complete!
• Click this link to respond online: www.my2020census.gov

Need more information?

• https://census.georgia.gov/
• https://2020census.gov/en.html

In the last Census, Sumter County was seriously under-reported with a response rate of 58.3%. As of today, our response rate is 37.2% – so lets keep working to reach 100%! I want to encourage everyone to participate in the census by completing their form and/or encouraging others to participate. Today is the official census day, but the count will continue over the next few months. While we are in a unique situation with social restrictions, we can still reach out via phone, e-mail and social media. Feel free to share from our social media pages and/or utilize the links above for more information.