Members of the Southern California Regional Council (SCRC) met with Anahit Tovmasyan, the Partnership Specialist at the U.S. Census Bureau, to accept a recognition certificate on behalf of the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) for partnering with the U.S. Census to raise awareness of and achieve a complete and accurate census count in 2010.
"As a U.S. Census partner, the Assembly's role in the 2010 census count was to ensure that the Armenian communities here in Southern California were properly represented in Congress and eligible for the funding needed for important community programs, services and facilities. The accuracy and importance of the Census determines the distribution of over $300 billion in federal funds," SCRC Member Richard Mushegian stated.
The U.S. Census began in 1790 and has been conducted every ten years thereafter which makes the 2010 Census the 23rd Census in the United States. The 2010 census was the shortest questionnaire in history with only 10 questions to complete and the forms were sent out to every household the second week of March.
"Participation in the U.S. Census is mandatory because it is part of our constitution and as residents of the United States we all need to do our civic duty and every single resident needs to participate to have an exact count of people residing in this country and in our individual states" stated Tovmasyan.
Tovmasyan explained the importance of the Census for the Armenian community. "By recording the accurate number of Armenians within our local communities, we have better opportunities to apply for government grants and to receive funding for non-profit Armenian organizations to create programs for our youth and the elderly."
By encouraging Armenian-Americans to check the "other" box and to write "Armenian" on the form, the Census will more accurately reflect the number of Armenians residing in Southern California, which in turn will allow Armenians to have minority status and receive the funds Armenian community organizations rightly deserve, AAA reported.
