Local News Stations Help Drive Census Effort With Only 20 Days Left in Count
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 10, 2020
Contact:
Matthew Rojas
mrojas@hispanicfederation.org
NEW YORK -- It was a busy night for volunteers staffing the Census Hotline at the Hispanic Federation, as thousands of phone calls came in during a virtual Census phone bank the organization held in partnership with eight ABC Owned Television Stations around the country.
WABC-TV New York, KABC-TV Los Angeles, WLS-TV Chicago, WPVI-TV Philadelphia, KTRK-TV Houston, KGO-TV San Francisco, WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham and KFSN-TV Fresno partnered with Hispanic Federation and other local community groups to promote participation in the Census. The stations displayed the Hispanic Federation’s Census Hotline number during the late afternoon and evening news, as well as broadcast promotions in various ways throughout the day.
The phone bank, which ran between 3:00pm and 7:00pm in most participating markets, generated approximately 4,200 calls to the Hispanic Federation’s Hotline.
“There is a direct correlation between communities that are not accurately counted in the Census and the disproportionate impact they suffer during times of crisis,” said Frankie Miranda, President of Hispanic Federation. “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic mostly fell on under resourced communities. Our strategic partnership with ABC allowed us to reach communities across the country to provide accurate information about the importance of the Census at a critical time in the count.”
The Census deadline is September 30.
“Each station has raised awareness throughout the year of the importance of the U.S. census; however, with the nation experiencing a global pandemic, we recognize this disruption may have added to families not filling out the Census,” said Wendy McMahon, president of ABC Owned Television Stations. “It’s critical that we use the strength of our platforms to reach, inform and educate the communities we serve about the importance of their Census count and the impact if undercounted.”
Data from the calls suggest that many people still have questions, with 58% of callers asking where they can complete the Census. Volunteers were able to directly connect over 500 callers to the Census Bureau.
“At this point, we are really fighting for every person to take the Census,” said Frederick Velez, National Director of Civic Engagement of Hispanic Federation who is leading the organization’s Census program. “When you consider what is at stake with the Census, even a single caller means thousands of dollars to a community.”
Along with being used to determine political apportionment and state-level redistricting, the Census data is used to guide federal spending to state and local governments. According to a 2019 George Washington University analysis, 316 federal spending programs relied on 2010 Census data to distribute $1.5 trillion in FY17. This included $970.3 billion of funding which was distributed using local-level Census-derived data only.
Hispanic Federation has been operating a Census engagement program throughout the year and went completely virtual when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Through virtual phone and text messaging banks, the organization has contacted over 500,000 people.
“With just over two weeks left in the counting period, we want local media to know they can have a direct impact on the communities they serve,” added Velez. “The actions taken by these media partners will be felt for a decade to come.”
If you have questions about the Census, please call the Hispanic Federation’s Census Hotline at 1-844-432-9832. Visit my2020census.gov to complete your questionnaire.
