This post was written by Ava Schwemler, Communications and Digital Engagement Coordinator, Philly Counts
Are you looking for a way to help your community while you’re at home? April 1, 2020 is Census Day! A complete and accurate 2020 Census count of ALL Philadelphians will ensure that our City is prepared to serve and protect every resident for the next 10 years. Our schools, healthcare, emergency services, and so much more depend on every person participating in the census this year.
Promoting a complete and accurate census count in Philly is an action we can all take to ensure a better future for our communities.
To celebrate Census Day, Philly Counts has put together a list of census activities for residents to participate in throughout the day. Take part in social media challenges, census games, and livestream discussions to get the word out about the importance of the census and celebrate the opportunity to improve our communities through participation.
Here are ways you can celebrate Census Day with us.
Share the tweet below to spread the word about Census Day!
Who counts on #CensusDay? I count, you count, #PhillyCounts! Every neighbor, every immigrant, every child, everyone. If you’re living in America, you should be counted in the 2020 Census. Spread the word and make sure your friends and family get counted. https://2020census.gov/
Enter the Mural Arts Instagram Contest
Tell us why Philly Counts to you and be entered to win!
To enter:
- Like this Mural Arts Instagram post ⠀
- Share it to your story and fill in the blank
- Tag @muralarts and use #PhillyCounts so we can see your entry⠀
- Tag 3 friends in the comments below. Leave as many comments as you’d like, but tag new friends in each!
On April 1, we’ll select 3 lucky winners who will each get to choose 1 of the following prizes from available prizes:⠀
- Two tickets to a Mural Arts mural tour in the fall⠀
- Gift cards from La Colombe, Blick Art Materials, Uncle Bobbies Coffee and Books, and Nineting Restaurant⠀
- Mural Arts and Philly Counts swag packages
The giveaway is open to Philadelphia residents only. Contest closes at 3 p.m. EST, Wednesday April 1, 2020 and winners will be announced by 7 p.m. EST Wednesday night. ⠀
Take the #CensusChallenge
The Census Counts campaign teamed up with State Voices to create the #CensusChallenge: An opportunity to highlight why the census is so important and who you can COUNT on during these shifting times.
Here is how you can participate on April 1:
- Post a selfie or video with who you can count on. Post on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Use #CensusChallenge #2020Census #PhillyCounts. Tag these accounts — Twitter: @censuscounts, @state_voices; Instagram: @censuscounts; Facebook: @statevoices.
- Share a quick blurb of why the census matters to you!
- Make sure to include the website where you can fill out your census: www.2020Census.gov
- Tag 3 friends to share who they can count on and why the census matters to them.
- Go to www.censuscounts.org to sign up to encourage community members to fill out their census by participating in remote phone and text banks!
Enter the Asian Arts Initiative Day of Action Giveaway
Take a photo or video of you and your household completing the 2020 Census (make sure not to include any personal info in your photo/video!) to be entered to win a copy of Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong, courtesy of the Philadelphia Asian Arts Initiative! Click here for more details. Contest ends at 11 p.m. EST on April 1.
Play Census Bingo and Jeopardy
We have a slew of census games and activities planned to celebrate the day, hosted by our own Philly Counts staff and volunteers. Are you more of the competitive type? Well pick a group of friends and create a virtual team to play in our Live Census Jeopardy Game. If you’ve been itching for a game of Bingo, well you’re in luck too! Join us for a game on April 1. Sign up for a game here.
Continue to spread the word
It is in times like these that we are reminded that our city is resilient. While many of us are feeling the need to support our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, we can be assured knowing that our census efforts will improve life in Philadelphia for the next 10 years. Sharing census info and encouraging our peers to participate is an action we can take collectively, even from our own homes.
The Census Must Go On at-home toolkit is filled with local resources, advice from trusted sources, census games, and weekly content for you to share on your social media pages. Please note that this is a live document that will be updated weekly. Feel free to reach out to the Philly Counts team with any suggestions for the toolkit by emailing census@phila.gov.
We encourage you to use content from our social toolkit, which includes graphics with census facts and captions to accompany them, as a way to engage your networks around the census. As you share with your networks across your social media platforms, remember to use the #PhillyCounts and #2020Census hashtags!
Together, we can get every Philadelphian counted in 2020!
