Have you completed your 2020 Census? While Nebraska is doing well, many of our counties have low response rates. Billions of dollars in federal spending are decided by census data including highway construction, school lunch programs, SNAP, disease tracking, fire departments, hospitals and more. When we don’t respond, the resources that we need are diverted to other communities who appear to have a greater need. We risk losing representation in state and federal government as well. Nebraska 4-H is proud to partner with the US Census Bureau to increase response rates to secure these resources for the future of our youth.
How Can You Help?
We are looking for 4-H clubs and families to participate in the #4HCountUsIn Response Drive. This drive is a great option for a club project engaging in active citizenship or a pre-CWF citizenship experience. It was designed to promote safe social distancing as communities vary across the state. We will supply you with nearly everything you need to support your participating members. Our toolBox (https://unl.box.com/s/qhu7eyjh4rore6ztyfiphko8rywd21bx) features four folders:
-Flyers & Posters: Features graphics from the US Census Bureau for your use on social media or in print.
-Information About 2020 Census: This folder has articles and an FAQ to help you if families, clubs or the public ask you questions.
-Participant Resources: This folder features the bingo card that participants will complete and turn in for prizes as well as templates needed to complete some of the squares.
-Staff Resources: This folder features the materials you need to promote the project on nearly any media platform.
How Does This Work?
After promoting this project, you will provide bingo cards to participants and register your county in our Qualtrics (https://ssp.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bl0cD5u8hnsw2jz) by July 1. The US Census Bureau has provided water bottles for every participant. We will ship those to you based on your Qualtrics registration. Youth will have until August 15th to collect a bingo or blackout. We will send another Qualtrics out at that time to collect bingo and blackout information from participating counties so that we can ship the appropriate prizes. Bingos will receive a clear, water-resistant cell phone pouch and blackouts will receive a 4-H backpack. Don’t forget to promote the option to use this effort as the basis for a county fair citizenship exhibit!
Still on the Fence?
We know that your work has been mentally and emotionally taxing lately. This project is an easy win. We have carefully designed these resources for easy implementation. Take a minute to explore our toolBox for yourself. We highly encourage counties with low response rates to consider participating. Most of our design team fits that bill too.
Special thanks to the design team members (Michelle Garwood, Megan Knuth & Melissa Mracek) who answered the call to action and generously shared their talents! Thanks also to Danielle Dewees for creating attractive visuals for our participants to use!
Please direct any questions about the #4HCountUsIn Response Drive to Jen Epp at jepp@unl.edu or 308-991-5297. I hope to be reachable in the GLW office again soon at 308-346-4200.