February 26, 2010
For Immediate Release

For more information: Farah Chase Dunn (801) 863-6794
University Marketing & Communications: Erin Spurgeon (801) 863-6807
Written by: Landon Hallman

Utah County residents may not realize that in a short 10 minutes, they can greatly impact the future of their community. Funding for infrastructure, beautification projects, education, roads, public transportation and more, can all be secured. The opportunity only comes once every 10 years, yet, surprisingly, few take it. It’s the U.S. Census and it will be arriving in mailboxes around the country in March.

An accurate Census account determines how the distribution of more than $400 billion of state and federal funding is spent each year, or more than $3 trillion dollars over a 10-year period. This includes funding for schools, roads, healthcare services, veteran care, education grants, housing assistance, rehabilitation loans, public transportation services and more.

The 2010 Census is the shortest to date, consisting of just 10 questions, and will be distributed to each household in the coming weeks. By law, all responses are used for statistical purposes only and are strictly confidential. This and other info is being relayed throughout February by a team of UVU students who, with the U.S. Census as their client, are trying to raise awareness of the extreme value of the Census.

“It’s really important as a student to be involved and educated on what is going on in our country, and this is the first time our generation will be counted,” said UVU student Roxanne Hutchens. “There was record involvement among UVU students with the 2008 election. This provides us with another opportunity to make our needs heard.”

The UVU communications students are competing in the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) national Bateman Competition for the United States Census Bureau in attempt to activate the local community and encourage them to make their voice heard in the 2010 Census. This is part of what will be the Census Bureau’s most extensive and far-reaching marketing campaign ever conducted.

The students’ objective is to educate, activate and motivate the campus and local community to participate in the 2010 Census. The student population, considered one of the Census Bureau’s “hard to count” audiences, is vital to the success of the 2010 Census.

Students, community members and anyone else interested in impacting the future of their community can learn more by visiting the team’s Facebook page at http://j.mp/uvucensus. The page contains information on how to take the Census and dispels common misconceptions, among other things. Frequently asked questions (and answers) can also be found on the Census Bureau’s Web site at http://www.census.gov/.

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