The 2010 Census Portrait of America Road Tour is coming to Port Angeles. The Road Tour is part of the largest civic outreach and awareness campaign in U.S. history, stopping at more than 800 events nationwide. From local parades and festivals to major sporting events, the Road Tour will attempt to motivate America’s growing and increasingly diverse population to complete and mail back the 10-question census form that arrived in mailboxes in March.
 
Traveling more than 150,000 miles around the country from January to April, the 13 road tour vehicles will provide the public with an educational, engaging and interactive experience that brings the 2010 Census to life. The Seattle Region’s vehicle – a cargo van with a 14-foot pull trailer — started January 4 from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and will be making a 100-day journey to the Space Needle in Seattle, with stops in Northern California, Oregon, Idaho and Washington.
 
At tour events around the country, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the 2010 Census and understand the benefits a complete count can bring to communities everywhere; view an interactive display of the census form and learn how the collected information is used; and contribute stories and photos to the Portrait of America project to explain why “I count!”
 
A mobile Questionnaire Assistance Center will be on site at the Road Tour stop, staffed by Census Bureau employees, for those needing help filling out their 2010 Census forms. The questionnaire is available in six different languages – English, Spanish, simplified Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Russian – and instructions for completing it are offered in 59 additional languages.

Where:
Safeway ( parking lot, east side of store), 110 E. 3rd St., Port Angeles 360-457-0788
When:
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Monday, April 5, 2010
Who:
Dan DiGuilio, mayor of Port Angeles
Mike Doherty, Clallam County commissioner
Cherie Kidd, Port Angeles Council commissioner
John Miller, director, Clallam County Dept. of Community Development
Dannie Diego, Census congressional liaison

About the Census
The 2010 Census is a count of everyone living in the United States and is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Census data are used to apportion congressional seats among the states, to help distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year and to make decisions about what community services to provide. The 2010 Census form will be one of the shortest in U.S. history and consists of just 10 questions, taking about 10 minutes to complete. Strict confidentiality laws protect the respondents and the information they provide.