Largest Filipino American Organization in the United States Reminds All Individuals to Complete the 2020 Census
New York, NY (April 24, 2020) – Last month, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) recently held its 2020 Census Filipino American Community Engagement Online Action Launch. The virtual event featured the U.S. Census Bureau’s New York Regional Director Jeff T. Behler as keynote speaker and was hosted by NaFFAA’s New York State Chair Laura Garcia and National Operations Officer Chris Rivera. It was designed to empower all individuals to complete the 2020 Census together in a simultaneous online action. As of print time of this release, the national self-response rate was 51.8%.
The online session had a live question and answer session and had 21,000 views.
Important points we learned:
- The Census is safe and easy! This is the first year we can all fill out the Census online.
- The Census is a very short form, asking for demographic information (ethnicity, age, relationship, etc.)
- The Census will NEVER ask for your immigration status, social security number, financial information, money, or anything on behalf of a political party.
- Personal information collected by the Census Bureau cannot be used against respondents by any government agency or court.
- The Census provides population data for government, businesses, and community groups to make decisions.
Your community benefits the most when the census counts everyone. Federal funds, grants and assistance to states, counties and communities are based on population totals and breakdowns by sex, age, race and other factors. When you respond to the census, you help your community get its fair share of the more than $675 billion per year in federal funds spent on schools, hospitals, roads, public works and other essential programs. Additionally, local governments use the census for public safety and emergency preparedness.
While the once-a-decade count is in progress, the United States and all countries around the world are battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
In these unprecedented times, Brendan Flores, NaFFAA National Chairman stated,
“While we acknowledge the gravity of the situation the world is currently facing, we must also look towards the future we want to see after this pandemic passes. NaFFAA has been the voice of the Filipino American community since 1997, but we must continue to have all of our voices heard by being counted in the Census. Completing the Census and doing your part to slow the spread of COVID-19 do not have to be mutually exclusive — we can do both.”
In response to the pandemic, the U.S. Census Bureau has extended the deadline to complete the 2020 Census to August 14, 2020. If people did not receive their Census ID in the mail, they can still fill out the online form by providing their current home address.
NaFFAA reminds all those living in the United States to ensure that they are counted by completing the Census online form at my2020census.gov.
The 2020 Census Community Engagement Online Action Launch was presented with the U.S. Census Bureau and supported by the Philippine Consulate General New York, AT&T, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. Community partners include the Philippine New York Jaycees, National Filipino American Lawyers Association (NFALA), Filipino American Lawyers Association – New York, Filipino School of New York New Jersey, Philippine Community Center Services for Aging, Agusan Association of America, New York Ram Guardians Brotherhood, Inc., and the Association of Philippine Physicians in America (APPA).
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Media and Partnership Contact:
Carissa Villacorta
carissa.villacorta@naffaa.org
202-803-1353
Since 1997, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) has been the standard-bearer for promoting the welfare and well-being of the four million Filipinos and Filipino Americans throughout the United States. NaFFAA is the largest non-partisan, non-profit organization and national affiliation of Filipino American institutions, umbrella organizations, and individuals. Its fourteen-member regions cover the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands.
