Census campaign joins Reyes Magos celebration

Members of Renton’s Hispanic community gathered Jan. 10 at Centro Rendu de San Vicente de Paul in the Highlands for the annual Epiphany celebration. The event featured Rosca de Reyes (a traditional pastry), hot chocolate and holiday gifts for children in attendance.

Over 200 people participated in the event. Renton City Council President Ruth Pérez was in attendance and helped distribute gifts. Molina Healthcare, the Consulate of Mexico in Seattle, Casa Latina, Ay! Jalisco, Jalapeños Mexican Grocery Store Market, La Hacienda Santa Fe Mexican restaurant and Enriquez Accounting Services all attended or contributed to the event.

The City of Renton participated in the event, also known as Reyes Magos, as part of its 2020 census campaign. New Census Coordinator for the city Ginna Hernandez was there with information in both English and Spanish, as part of the city’s effort to reach traditionally undercounted areas like the Highlands.

Hiring Hernandez was one step in the city’s move to get an accurate count of residents. The city also launched the Renton Complete Count Committee.

“We realize that some of our residents have real concerns and fears about the census. We are taking several steps to alleviate those fears, including recruiting trusted messengers to serve on the committee to help achieve a complete count in the 2020 census,” Mayor Armondo Pavone stated in a press release.

The committee held its first meeting Jan. 21.

Renton’s census outreach efforts have a new logo, unveiled in the city press release. The logo’s 10 spokes are meant to represent the city’s Census theme: 10 questions, 10 minutes, 10 years.” The census form has 10 basic questions, takes less than 10 minutes and impacts Renton in both statistics and funding for the next 10 years. Residents will get more information on completing the form in mid-March.

Renton is seeking Census Ambassadors, which you can find more on at rentonwa.gov/2020census. Jobs as a census taker are also available at 2020census.gov/jobs.

Photo courtesy of city of Renton. New Full Time Census Program Manager Ginna Hernandez through September 2020 to help Renton get counted in the U.S. Census.