The people pushing Texans to get their census forms filled out are taking a virtual tour of the state. About 56 percent of Texans have completed the paperwork, ranking us 40th in the nation.
Cities this week are organizing events to motivate us to get it done.
Tenishea Turner with Texas Counts says the goal is to get information out about the importance of the census. She says some of these online tours are pretty creative with virtual sightseeing, jam sessions or community scavenger hunts. "Some cities are doing parades, like drive-through parades, some are doing Zoom events or Facebook Live events.
The tour kicked off Monday in the Gulf Coast and East Texas. Tuesday it's in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. Wednesday the tour moves to West Texas and the Panhandle. Thursday the tour goes to North Texas and ends Friday in Central Texas and the Hill Country.Turner says there is $675 billion at stake nationwide for states. If we don't get a complete and accurate count, that is money Texas will not receive. "This funding stays in place for ten years. So once that funding it lost, it's gone. In ten years we'll do a count again, but you're going to need this funding for programs you utilize now, so we need to make sure that you get counted."Turner adds that come August, there are plans to have mask wearing, socially distancing census workers knock on doors of those who haven't mailed in their forms.For more information, go to Texascounts.org