In Fall 2019, I was truly fortunate to receive a grant from the Hogg Foundation to promote the 2020 Census in East Texas. Yes, this area includes my hometown county - Panola County, then Rusk County and Shelby County. This was an AMAZING project! Thanks Hogg Foundation!
The North East Texas Counts campaign had three goals for the project. Goal one was “to select and train 200 NETX Counts Ambassadors and Junior Ambassadors to tell the importance of the census to the community”. Goal two was “to engage and educate at least 3,000 residents in the tri-county community (especially hard-to-count populations) about the importance of the census”. The final goal, goal three” was “to saturate the tri-county community media outlets with Census information pertinent to their residents”. Through this campaign, we hosted 25 outdoor Census booths, eight interactive community information sessions, an engaging social media campaign, and received coverage in almost 10 newspapers and television outlets.
The North East Texas Counts began the Census season by communicating with key contacts in the community and scheduling large-scale events to educate the community about the Census. We scheduled events at the local community college, library, etc. After the three counties restricted large scale and in-person events, we decided to develop a more robust online training and development process for our interns and volunteers.
We offered numerous outdoor Census education table sessions. However, instead of offering these sessions outside large big-box retailers in the country, we offered these sessions in formats more focused on common pain points experienced by residents of the three counties and safety protocols of the counties. Instead of shopping at big-box retailers, the residents were more focused on shopping in smaller retailers, visiting gas stations, and visiting the post office. As a result, our strategy changed. During this process, we coined the phrase, “from gas stations to grocery stores”, because these were the essential places visited by residents during the pandemic. During this process, we offered information booths outside of gas stations, libraries in each county, Tractor Supply stores, city council areas, and on the side of the major highways. These strategies proved to be very effective because many residents indicated they have not taken the Census before and they did not know the importance of the Census. We were able to provide support for these residents through interactive in-person, on-one-one programming focused on the Census.
Community Communication
The North East Texas Counts team began the Census season by communicating with key contacts in the community and scheduling large-scale events to educate the community about the Census. We scheduled events at the local community college, library, etc. After the three counties restricted large scale and in-person events, we decided to develop a more robust online training and development process for our interns and volunteers.
We offered three pop-up Census education table sessions outside large big-box retailers in the country. During these sessions, participants received USB chargers, Census t-shirts, and USB wall plugs. These technology and apparel items were essential items during the pandemic, because individuals in these areas usually have to travel to larger cities for technology items. People saw our items as they drove on the highways and many turned around to hear about the Census and to receive the items. Many residents commented that they have seen several Census shirts around their town and they wanted to learn more. We did not have any Census t-shirts left after September 30, 2020.
North East Texas Counts Census - Coverage
Quoted in the Texas Tribune. Ura, A. (2020, August 5). An abrupt change to the census deadline shortened the response period by a month, increasing fears of an undercount in Texas. Texas Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.gainesvilleregister.com/news/coronavirus/an-abrupt-change-to-the-census-deadline-shortened-the-response-period-by-a-month-increasing/article_7fe6db5e-d764-11ea-83e8-5710b5af1bd7.html
Quoted by Tarleton State University. Riddle, P. (2019, December). Tarleton professor awarded grant to help count Texans for 2020 census. Tarleton Marketing and Communication. Retrieved from https://www.tarleton.edu/scripts/ press/display.asp?id=6236
Quoted on the Spectrum News in San Antonio and Austin. Spectrum News (2020, August 11), “Census Changes Increase Gears of an Undercount in Texas”. Retrieved from https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/san-antonio/news/2020 /08/12/census-changes-increase-fears-of-an-undercount-in-texas
Quoted in the Panola Watchman. Staff Reports. (2020, January 17). “Tickets on sale for 'Black to the Future' banquet in Carthage”. Retrieved from https://www.panolawatchman.com/general/ tickets-on-sale-for-black-to-the-future-banquet-in/article_0bbd1b80-3705-11ea-a159-9317daf73ab6.html
Quoted in the Tyler Morning Telegraph. Wallace, C. (2020, September 30). “What we could lose:" Changes in census could cost ETX millions”. Tyler Morning Telegraph. Retrieved from https://tylerpaper.com/news/local/ what-we-could-lose-changes-in-census-could-cost-etx-millions/article_a2e688ca-e3d0-11ea-96a5-4bf3b7628d70.html
Quoted in the Panola Watchman. Wieser, S. (2020, June). Fill It Out: U.S. Census important for Panola County funding. The Panola Watchman. Retrieved from https://www.panolawatchman.com/news/fill-it-out-u-s-census-important-for-panola-county-funding/article_0169c0d0-b1a2-11ea-b3f3-e3d2f902f86d.html
Stay tuned!
Sincerely,
Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of Communication
Executive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute & Rural Communication Institute
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