Navigate our New Normal - Completing the 2020 Census

South Cobb, as we navigate our new normal, are we willing to jeopardizing our children's future? Each person in our community is doing just that if you have not filled out the CENSUS.

As an advocate in the South Cobb community, I was sent the census tracking map for Cobb County, which shows East Cobb at 69.3%, West Cobb at 63.3% and our communities of South Cobb at a low 49.3%. We are 20% points behind East Cobb communities. WHY? We can do better than these numbers and we must do better, if not for ourselves, then think about our children's future.

The CENSUS provides a more accurate count of people living in South Cobb. In order to have the same opportunities in our communities as East Cobb, we need to be willing to get off the bleachers, get into the game, and complete the census.

If you have not completed your CENSUS, do so today. As you talk to your social circle, make completing the CENSUS a part of your conversations.

Failure by our community to fill out the CENSUS means we are willing to turn our backs and leave real money and real power on the table for other communities, such as East and West Cobb, to receive instead of securing this for the people of our communities in South Cobb. It also means we are willing to leave the future of our children to chance? I'm not willing to do that and I ask you to join me in encouraging everyone you know to fill out the census today.

The CENSUS provides a more accurate count of people living in South Cobb. Here is some important information on the CENSUS and what it means for our community:

• Census data helps with the allocation of federal funding across 55 programs, including the National School Lunch Program, federal student loan programs, and many more.

• The census provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, teachers, and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support for you and your community.

• The results of the census also determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives, and they are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts.

• For every person counted, from infants to young children to older adults, the State of Georgia receives more than $2,300 from the federal government. This amount adds up to more than $20 billion annually towards programs that benefit Georgians like you. The more people counted, the more money each community stands to receive.

Please take a few minutes to fill out the CENSUS and share this message with everyone in your social network – family, friends, coworkers, and houses of worship – ask them not to turn their backs on our children's future and remind them that our community must stop leaving money on the table.

Let’s do our part to get our numbers up and shape South Cobb's future in a positive way by responding to the CENSUS. Working together, we can.

Be Safe and Be Well as we Navigate our New Normal!

#Shelia4SouthCobb