I co-chair the Bellefonte Borough Census Complete Counts Committee. This committee is made up of members of the communty who are working with the US Census Bureau to help ensure that everyone in our town is counted in the 2020 Census.

Over time we have done several outreach efforts. At the beginning of March, before the pandemic spread to Pennsylvania, we hand-delivered postcards to every household in town. It included a picture of the letter that the US Census Bureau sent out to everyone on approximately March 15.

The borough is putting a one-sentence reminder to all households and businesses that pay for utilities in town to remember to fill out the census.

We also created banners that went up on our two main streets in town reminding people to “Participate in the 2020 Census.”

We had also planned on holding drop-in centers around town to help the public fill out their Census forms. But due to the coronavirus pandemic and the shelter-at-home/social distancing orders, these assistance centers were canceled.

Instead, we are attempting to send out a message on social media during this era of social distancing, to take a few minutes to fill out your Census form in the safety of your home. You can do it online at http://my.2020Census.gov, by phone at 844-330-2020, or by mail once you receive your paper version of the Census.

We have spread the word through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Reddit, Pinterest, and Youtube. Here is the first one posted on YouTube.