Posted by
Rabbi Ron Symons on January 17, 2020
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
As we celebrate the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his dream that every person be judged for their character and not the color of their skin is one that we are still dreaming. Living in the year 2020, knowing that the constitutionally mandated census will take place beginning on April 1, King’s dream can continue to be our vision. We are dreaming of a complete beloved community. It will take each and every one of us to do our part to be counted and make sure that others are counted as well.
The JCC has been involved in the city and county Complete Count Committee over the past two years. We have worked with colleagues across the region to craft and implement strategies to ensure that all of us, including the most likely populations to be under counted, are counted.
There are two reasons why the census is important to all of us. The first reason is pragmatic. The more complete the count is in southwestern Pennsylvania, the more federal funding will be allocated to our region. The second reason goes to the heart of the work that we do at the Center for Loving Kindness. We are committed to redefining neighbor from a geographic term to a moral concept.
Making sure that every single neighbor is counted is at the core of acknowledging that every person counts and every person should be counted. It is a moral imperative. When the census begins in April, we will be counting all of us and all of our children. All of us members of one community.
Become informed about the census. Click here to go to becounted2020.org to :
- Learn about how the computer code you will receive gives you access to your online census form.
- Learn about why the census is so important for us in southwestern Pennsylvania.
- Learn about the opportunities as a part-time employee no matter how many hours you want to work. They are paying $23 an hour!
Join us on February 10 at 7 PM at the JCC for a Hopeful Conversation: All About Census 2020 to learn about the civic, spiritual and community imperatives ensuring that the count is complete, and about the ins and outs of the census and about available census jobs.
