On the eve of the Opening Day of the Hawaii State Legislature last week Tuesday, groups held a rally at the State Capitol to raise awareness of the importance of civic engagement and census participation this year.

The theme for 2020 is to go “ALL In for a Better Hawaii.”

The Pacific Resource Partnership, the Hawaii Executive Collaborative and Hawaii Community Foundation urge Hawaii citizens to be civically engaged during this election year, vote and be counted for the U.S. Census.

“2020 is an especially important year for Hawaii with the U.S. Census and elections,” said Mike Formby, Pacific Resource Partnership executive director.

“We want to kick off the year bringing awareness to what makes 2020 special. It’s about the Census, it’s about voting and it’s about civic engagement.”

The goal of Census 2020 is to count everyone in Hawaii once – only once – and in the right place (more information can be found at census.gov). By April 1, residents will receive an invitation by mail to participate in the 2020 Census. You can respond online, by mail or by phone.

“One of the most important ways we can engage as citizens of Hawaii is through the Census. Each person who is not counted means a loss of $1,800 per person, per year, in federal funding over the next ten years,” said Micah Kane, Hawaii Community Foundation’s CEO and president.

“Let’s make sure that Hawaii gets the funding it deserves for our nonprofits, education, health care, infrastructure and so much more.”

Download the KAKOU app to access a directory of the state’s elected officials, legislative calendar, Census 2020 information, voter registration and information on nonprofit partners.