On Thursday, February 6, the Wilmington Census Office hosted a kick-off event, inviting members of the Complete Count Commission, community representatives, as well as Mayor Purzycki and Lt. Governor Hall-Long to speak on the importance of Delawareans completing the Census. The Commission is dedicated to catering to the members in Wilmington’s Hard-To-Count communities, to ensure maximum participation on Census Day. 

“Why do we care?” said Lt. Governor Hall-Long, “It is everything that touches people, that unites us. It goes to school lunches… We like to make sure our families have health insurance, that our roads don’t have potholes, and we like to make sure that funds are used appropriately and that we get the dollars. We turned away money during the last money, and we undercounted persons. We want everyone to count!” 

Reverend Maurice Butler, First Episcopal District of AME Church Complete Count Committee stated, “We want to make sure we dispel the myth that the Census is a problem for our community. The church and faith community has a major responsibility to reach out into the community, to ensure that our communities, that those we are partnering with are counted.” 

Eugine Young, President & CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League spoke towards the end of the program and said, “When you look around at the children here, the many people in our community who are looking for resources. When it comes to transportation issues, infrastructure, housing, schools, this is the epicenter of it all. We have to make sure that we are counted. Because if we are not, those dollars go somewhere else to another group who is organized… I love this, because of the fact that we have all come together. This isn’t a New Castle County thing, this isn’t a Kent County thing, this isn’t a Sussex County thing, this is a Delaware thing.” 

In Mid-March all households in Delaware will receive invitations to participate in the Census via the internet, phone, or paper questionnaire on Census Day, April 1, 2020. To stay informed on the Delaware Census efforts, you can visit www.census.delaware.gov for more information, or follow the Delaware Census on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Watch the entire event here.