Through Thu 7/31
We’ve talked to you about this before, but there’s no way to overemphasize how important it is: the once-every-ten-years U.S. census impacts our lives in countless ways It determines how much funding is allocated to our cities, counties and states, based on population, for things such as food assistance, housing support, education and community health care. And sadly, in Ohio as elsewhere, wealthy communities have a higher rate of response than ess affluent ones — so they end up getting more
It also creates the congressional districts for the next ten years, which are apportioned by population as well — and it has been speculated that Ohio could lose a congressional district, which makes it imperative that all of us be counted.
April 1 was Census Day, kicking off the awareness campaign to get people to fill out their census forms, with the census continuing through the end of July. Because of the pandemic, that’s been extended through October 31, giving us more time to get on it.
To help raise awareness and encourage people to returned their completed forms (or fill them out online), Arts Cleveland and the Cleveland Foundation have launched an art contest called “Why We Count.” Entrants should create a piece — either still or video — and post it on Facebook or Instagram with the tag #completecountcle or mail it to completecountcle@gmail.com. It should also include the word for which of the four categories you’re entering in: Kids (ages 3-5), youth (7-12), teen (12-18) and adult (over 18).
Deadline to enter is July 31 and there will be four grand prizewinners of $400, and 2o honorable mentions who get $25. Go here for complete information.
completecountcle.org/why-we-count