Census Maryland 2020 Newsletter

October 2, 2020

October 2 Update:

As of Friday afternoon at 4 p.m., October 2, the U.S. Census Bureau alerted their Census field offices/partners that the 2020 Census will continue through October 31.

The U.S. Census Bureau's website at www.census.gov reflects the
October 31 date. 

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Congratulations to our Census Champions!

Fourteen Named Maryland Census Champions - Each Help Make a Difference in Our Complete Count

Our champions this week are: 

• Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford
• Andrew Gray, City of Westminster, Carroll County
• Shelly Tucker, Charles County
• Chris Swam, Carroll County
• Carroll County Circle of Caring Homelessness Board
• Kelly Phipps, Charles County
• Elizabeth Farar, Charles County
• Kristin Fleckenstein, Maryland Department of Planning
• Laura Morton, City of Westminster, Carroll County
• Lynn Davis, Carroll County
• Secretary Rob McCord, Maryland Department of Planning
• Ruth E. Davis-Rogers, Calvert County
• Michael Bellis, Charles County
• Curtis Eaddy III, Baltimore City

A Maryland Census Champion is a person or group that has gone above and beyond in spreading the Census message in their community.  Census Champions have devised innovative ways to get their community engaged in completing the 2020 Census. The individual or group being nominated could be a member of a local complete committee, a faith leader, a business leader/owner, or even someone in the community making a difference. Recipients of the Census Champion will be highlighted in this newsletter, on social media, and on the Maryland 2020 Census Champions web page.

Download the Census Champion Nomination form and nominate a champion in your community today.

Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford

Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford has been a tireless champion on behalf of Marylanders for the 2020 Census.  He attended the Census kick-off rally at the State House, hosted a 90-second Census PSA, provided critical Census messaging as part of his popular Mundane but Meaningful series, and supported the Hogan-Rutherford Administration with critical messaging about the importance of the 2020 Census. 

He has consistently talked about how the 2020 Census would provide a snapshot of Maryland for the next ten years and how Census data will be used for Congressional representation, critical federal funds, and drawing state and congressional districts.  Thank you, Lt. Governor Rutherford, for your leadership during the 2020 Census.  

Andrew Gray

Andrew Gray works in the Planning Department of the City of Westminster. He represents the city on the Carroll County Complete Count Committee (CCC) as the chair of the municipalities work group. This group was ahead of the county creating a municipalities flier to send out to constituents in city newsletters and bills. Andrew has been a proactive member of our CCC and work group leader. He has continually sent out Census information in all social media, the city newsletter, and events. He has come up with ideas and helped implement them. Most recently, the city of Westminster created and hung a banner over Main Street. Andrew has been a true leader.

Shelly Tucker

Shelly is a valuable member of the Charles County Census 2020 Complete Count Committee. She has worked tirelessly to promote Census response for a highly undercounted demographic, children under five. She has included Census promotional materials (including those cute baby beanies!) in several distributions of diaper bundles to parents in Charles County. She has worked to expand her organization’s Census outreach to serve areas of the county that have experienced low response. She even created and shared her own videos promoting the Census. Shelly exemplifies what it means to be a Census Champion!  

Chris Swam

Chris is a member of the Carroll County Complete Count Committee. He is the Digital Media Manager for Carroll County Government. Chris created and maintains the Carroll County Census website as well as all the other social media. He also creates the messages on the county’s various electronic signs. Chris created five videos with county leaders talking about the importance of the 2020 Census. Once COVID-19 hit, Chris was critical to the efforts of communicating to the county’s citizens as he continued to push out Census messages. He has been an important part of our team, especially during COVID-19.

Carroll County Circle of Caring Homelessness Board

The Circle of Caring/Homelessness Board - Outreach Committee, a board appointed by the Carroll County Commissioners, meets on a regular basis to discuss issues with the homeless population and create actions. Several agencies actively participated in the Census homeless count, including the Human Services Programs (HSP) of Carroll County, Carroll County Government, Carroll County Health Department, and the Carroll County Public Schools. To prepare for the 2020 homeless count, HSP ran a list of all the homeless participants served. Carroll County Public Schools reached out to counselors to get a list of homeless students. The veterans’ coordinator reached out to vets who live in hotels. The Health Department conducted Census outreach at the soup kitchens. Jenny Graybill, acting chair of the committee from HSP, coordinated with the US Census enumerators and recruited committee members and agency staff on September 23 to take the enumerators to the homeless encampments. This effort is a great representation on how agencies and government in Carroll County work together. The attached photo was taken on September 23 of the agency staff and enumerators as they gathered to count the homeless.

Kelly Phipps

Kelly Phipps went above and beyond to include a regular Census outreach presence as manager at the La Plata Farmers Market. She worked with county and Census staff to accommodate Census outreach workers at several market days. Census workers made contact with hundreds of market patrons as a result. Kelly went a step further by promoting the Census on the market’s Facebook page. Kelly embodies the true community spirit in her dedication in promoting the importance of the Census!

Elizabeth Farar

Elizabeth Farar and Michael Bellis are valuable members of the Charles County Census 2020 Complete Count Committee. They began promoting the Census from day one, regularly including Census recruiting staff and promotional materials at their community service events. They also included a major Census outreach presence at the big August 8 community resources event at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf. Census outreach workers handed out promotional items and encouraged the participants to respond to the Census. Census signs were placed around the periphery of the event site for all to see. Mike participated in a Facebook Live Census promotion at the event. In the end, Census workers reached over 200 households at this event. Mike and Elizabeth are truly dedicated to promoting the Census in all they do! 

Kristin Fleckenstein

Kristin Fleckenstein has been a tireless advocate for counting everyone in Maryland for the 2020 Census. Joining the Maryland Department of Planning in February 2020 as the Director of Public Affairs, she brought years of public relations and communications experience to the table as everyone navigated the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Kristin seamlessly transitioned into Planning just as the 2020 Census count was set to begin.

In her role with Planning, Kristin coordinates all facets of Maryland’s Census efforts, including responding to Census-related media inquiries, providing direction to the Maryland Complete Count Committee, supporting local complete count committees, and generally promoting strategic messaging to all Census stakeholders. Day after day, Kristin goes above and beyond the call of duty to ensure a full and accurate count in 2020, never ceasing to find ways to streamline operations. Thank you Kristin, for your unwavering dedication to this critical project that will have a lasting impact for all of Maryland.

Laura Morton

Laura Morton is an attorney in Westminster. She does pro bono work for the Latino community and is interested in integrating the community. Laura was a volunteer for the Census, reaching out to see what she could do to promote the Census to the Latino community. She took posters and Spanish rack cards to Latino businesses and volunteered at several events. Laura coordinated an ice-cream social event as part of outreach to the Latino community. She recruited volunteers, including local high school students and members of the Catholic Church. Fliers were distributed to the Latino community and distributed during the Spanish mass at St. John’s Catholic Church. Laura has been a strong advocate for making sure the Latino community is represented in the Census.

Lynn Davis

Lynn Davis, Executive Director of the Youth Services Bureau, serves on the Carroll County Complete Count Committee. She is the chair of the non-profit and community work group. Lynn has been very involved and proactive in promoting the Census. She reached out to more than 130 non-profits in the county to engage them in outreach. She personally delivered banners and rack cards and coordinated outreach to the faith community. Once COVID-19 hit, Lynn continued to come up with ways to do outreach. She coordinated with the YMCA to put up a street banner. Most recently, she coordinated with the Boys and Girls Club to host an ice-cream social during parent pick up, where 13 people filled out their Census. 

Secretary Rob McCord

Ruth E. Davis-Rogers

Ruth E. Davis-Rogers is an integral and vital influence on the success of the Calvert County Complete Count Committee’s (CCC) outreach.  She is an outstanding management team member, always providing thoughtful, professional insights during our outreach deliberations.  Ruth’s valuable involvement has energized our team to reach higher horizons leading to nearly 75 percent self-response in the 2020 Census.  She strengthened our collaboration with coalition partners and the government for the best outcomes.  Most recently, she managed the coordination of our team leaders to brief our ultimate stakeholders, Calvert County Board of Commissioners.  Her diligence and motivation contributed to a highly successful interaction.  Ruth exemplifies the best in our CCC management team, and we can always count on her significant energy.

Michael Bellis

Michael Bellis and Elizabeth Farar are valuable members of the Charles County Census 2020 Complete Count Committee. They began promoting the Census from day one, regularly including Census recruiting staff and promotional materials at their community service events. They also included a major Census outreach presence at the big August 8 community resources event at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf. Census outreach workers handed out promotional items and encouraged the participants to respond to the Census. Census signs were placed around the periphery of the event site for all to see. Mike even participated in a Facebook Live Census promotion at the event. In the end, Census workers reached over 200 households at this event. Mike and Elizabeth are truly dedicated to promoting the Census in all they do! 

Curtis Eaddy III

Curtis Eaddy III is the Events and Marketing Manager for the Southwest Partnership in Baltimore City, which serves the residents of seven neighborhoods - Barre Circle, Franklin Square, Hollins Roundhouse, Mount Clare, Pigtown, Poppleton, and Union Square.

The Southwest Partnership has been actively promoting the 2020 Census on its website.  On September 27, 2020, Curtis and his team arranged a great community event, the  “Come to Your Census” celebration in Franklin Square Park.  This event was designed to encourage residents to complete their 2020 Census. 

Curtis and his many team members worked hard to bring the community together on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon for Census participation with fellowship, live music, food, kids’ games, and even a marching band!  Curtis exemplifies leadership to improve his community and he knows that every person counted results in funding to help achieve that goal.  Thank you, Curtis!

Follow Maryland Census 2020 on Twitter and Facebook – Follow @MdCensus2020 and like @MdCensus2020 – to stay in touch with Maryland's Census 2020 complete count efforts. Join the conversation by using hashtag #2020MDCensus on Facebook and on Twitter.

In This Issue

1. The U.S. Census Bureau Updated the New Target Date for the Completion of the 2020 Census to October 5, 2020. 
2. Fourteen Named Maryland Census Champions Making a Difference in Our Complete Count
3. As of October 2, Maryland Self-Response Rate at 70.8 Percent
4. Congratulations to These Counties and Municipalities that Exceeded Their 2010 Response Rate in the 2020 Census This Week
5. Hispanic Heritage Week Census Celebration
6. Census Maryland 2020 Social Media

Note: If the bookmark links to the articles above do not work, check that your pop-up blocker is turned off. Otherwise, scroll down in the newsletter to see the articles.

Upcoming Meetings and Events

None for the next week.

As of October 2, Maryland Self-Response Rate at 70.8 Percent

As of October 2, Maryland’s self-response rate for the 2020 Census is 
70.8 percent, while the national average is 66.6 percent. Maryland is in 9th place in the U.S., just 0.6% behind #6 Virginia. Maryland remains 2nd in the region, behind only Virginia at 71.1 percent. Maryland is ahead of Pennsylvania (69.3 percent), Delaware (64.5 percent), the District of Columbia (63.3 percent), and West Virginia (56.0 percent).

Carroll (81.4 percent and number 24 in the entire U.S. out of 3,200+ counties), Howard (80.5 percent), Harford (78.3 percent) and Frederick (78.2 percent) counties are leading the state.  Twenty two Maryland counties/jurisdictions have achieved self-response rates of over 50 percent and 18 counties have exceed or are tied with their 2010 rate.  Anne Arundel, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George's, St. Mary's, Talbot and Washington counties have all exceeded their 2010 self-response rates.  Queen Anne's and Worcester counties are tied.

View Maryland County and Municipality Response Rates at the MDP's Census 2020 Response Rate At-A-Glance Dashboard

The Maryland Department of Planning's
Census Response at a Glance by County

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Congratulations to These Municipalities that Exceeded Their 2010 Response Rate in the 2020 Census This Week

New Carrollton, Upper Marlboro, and Chevy Chase Village

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Hispanic Heritage Week Census Celebration

The U.S. Census Bureau, in partnership with Planning and the local Salisbury-Wicomico CCC, hosted a week-long Census outreach event around Hispanic Heritage Week. Employees and volunteers from these organizations connected with local residents outside a Hispanic convenience store to promote the importance of the Census.  Several people spoke to attendees after Mass at Saint Francis de Sales Church on Sunday. In total, the week-long event resulted in 70 households completing their Census for Wicomico County and supported a hard to count population.  

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Census Maryland 2020 Social Media

Follow @MDCensus2020 on Facebook and Twitter

September 30: A reminder from the U.S. Census Bureau - The Secretary of Commerce has announced a target date of October 5, 2020 to conclude 2020 Census self-response and field data collection operations.

September 29: Learn more about the importance of the Census tonight at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Complete your Census by tomorrow at http://2020Census.gov

September 29: Come fill out your #2020census with census enumerators today until 1:00pm outside of @thestampumd, McKeldin @UMDLibraries Northgate Park, and Krazi Kebob! We have census swag too!

September 28: The Secretary of Commerce has announced a target date of October 5, 2020 to conclude 2020 Census self-response and field data collection operations.

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