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Philly Counts

Empowering residents to take action and be agents of change in their communities

Philly Counts

The Philly Counts office was originally created to support the 2020 Census. By working closely with community members and partners, this program increased understanding about the importance of the census, educated the public on how to participate, ensured responses from the public for a fair and accurate count, and supported filling census jobs.

The Philly Counts community engagement model has focused on leveraging community networks to further key administration priorities and to increase overall civic engagement in our communities to support a more equitable democracy in Philadelphia. This has included the trusted messenger model to assist the City’s COVID-19 response, mutual aid efforts, and the 2020 General Election.

Now, Philly Counts is helping direct community engagement efforts for the COVID-19 vaccine. In partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and other public and private partners, Philly Counts will leverage its existing network of staff and volunteers to provide COVID-19 outreach, education, organizing, and canvassing efforts to ensure that every Philadelphia resident understands why they should consider being vaccinated.

Connect

Email	phillycounts@phila.gov

Philly Counts Ambassador Program

Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia/Philly Counts Ambassadors work in the neighborhoods where they live. Because they are from the community, Ambassadors are uniquely positioned to engage with their neighbors and promote vaccine uptake while working to improve overall health outcomes in their neighborhoods. Ambassadors will participate in a paid, ten-week organizing and workforce development program. Ambassadors will work in priority neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia, as identified by Philly Counts in partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

The Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia/Philly Counts Ambassador program is fully funded through the COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund and all grant payments will be made by Philanthropy Network. Philly Counts staff will provide programmatic support for participants.

Additionally, Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia/Philly Counts Ambassadors will receive paid workforce development (training and skills to be prepared for future jobs) to help with networking and future job seeking.

Vaccine Champion Training Program

A 90-minute, in-depth training to become a Vaccine Champion, a trusted messenger equipped with the knowledge and tools to accurately and effectively answer questions about the COVID-19 Vaccine. Vaccine Champions will be part of a growing network that will share critical information to educate the public and increase uptake of the COVID-19 Vaccine through a neighbor-to-neighbor strategy.

The first Vaccine Champion training sessions took place on March 18 and were facilitated in English, Spanish, and Mandarin.

Philly Counts Community Engagement model

The trusted messenger model provided individuals, who may not have been involved with local government before, a way to get involved and build trust.

The foundation of the plan was centered around person-to-person outreach. Between September 2019 and February 2020, Philly Counts and its volunteers trained more than 8,000 Philadelphians to be Census Champions and encourage participation in their own communities.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Philadelphia was palpable, and Philly Counts immediately recognized the need to pivot the work to better encompass the realities of the most historically undercounted communities.

COVID Community Response Captain (CRC) program

In April 2020, considering the complex and urgent needs in the community, Philly Counts launched a trauma-informed organizing strategy, centered on phone banking, to reach people during stay-at-home orders. While designing the phone banking program, Philly Counts was simultaneously developing the COVID Community Response Captain (CRC) program in partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and the Mayor’s Office.

Similar to the Census Champion Training Program, Community Response Captains will be trained to provide support in their communities during the COVID-19 health crisis. Below you will find the most updated resources:

Empowering Residents to Take Action

The Philly Counts community engagement model helped make City services more accessible while also empowering residents to take action and be agents of change in their communities.

The civic infrastructure created as part of the 2020 Census is strong, and it’s much more than a network of volunteers that promoted census participation. The trusted messenger model has been used in the City’s COVID-19 response, mutual aid efforts, and the 2020 General Election.

Vaccine Education and Distribution

In February 2021, this network of volunteers started again to engage Philadelphia’s underserved communities around the COVID-19 vaccination process.

2020 Census - Final Report

Philly Counts , released its final report, findings, and recommendations based on the work done in diverse communities across Philadelphia from December 2018 through October 2020. The report provides a thorough understanding of the multifaceted field plan, designed and executed by Philly Counts, that addressed individual and community outreach on the ground and engaged partner organizations, local leaders, and philanthropic supporters.