Let’s Make Sure That Everybody Counts!

A Letter from the Executive Director of United Way of North Central Ohio serving Crawford, Marion, & Wyandot

We recently spent several days meeting with each of our collaborative partners in Crawford, Marion, & Wyandot counties, talking about our Collective Impact goals and program results and progress to date. We also spent some time discussing what more United Way can do to help promote the work of each program in the community. One thing we heard over and over from our partner agencies was the importance of local participation in the 2020 Census.

Nearly all of our partners depend on federal and state funding of some sort, and that funding is calculated based on the demographic data collected by the Census. Population counts determine funding for programs that support nutrition, education, housing, healthcare, and more.

Census data is also used by businesses to determine where to invest and create new jobs. It affects funding for infrastructure and road improvements, and determines our community’s representation in Congress. We all have something to lose when community response to the Census is low.

I’m asking that you help spread the word about how important participation in the Census is to the community. Census data is confidential, and by law cannot be shared with law enforcement agencies or used to determine your eligibility for government benefits.

Live United,

Amber Wertman, Executive Director
United Way of North Central Ohio