BACHAC Census Project Update
Greetings BACHAC members and Community Partners,
Thomasina Russaw, BACHAC Census Project Manager gave a great update at the last BACHAC monthly meeting. We're at 67%, in North Central San Mateo! Thank you all for your support and we have an opportunity to increase the percentage even more!! The BACHAC Census Team of Gloria Brown, Pastor Dr. Bussey, Oscar Tuesta, Tuna Vahai, Thomasina with our volunteers and Jennifer Donahue, our graphic designer/web developer have been working hard to ensure our diverse community members in North Central San Mateo 1) Understand the importance of the Census and 2) That we are available to assist community members in completing the census.
This team faced a big challenge when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, two weeks before the opening of the Questionnaire Assistance Center at St. James AME Zion Church. Then the team reconvened the volunteers to train to use Zoom, a virtual on-line platform to move the QAC on-line and then Zoom was hit with security and privacy issues that wouldn't be resolved for 90 days. So, when dealt with lemonades, what did they do, they rolled up their sleeves and started making phone calls. Attached are highlights of the project, however here are a few:
Phone Banking Stats and Winners of the Caller Challenger
1) The Census Team and our dedicated volunteers have made close to 700 calls!
2) During the Caller Challenge are top winners for most phone calls were:
Teri Whitehair, Nina Smith and Yvonne Webb
Top winners for Caller Assists were:
Nina Smith and Trinia Pierce
For their time and dedication each volunteer will receive a gift card as a token of our appreciation. Thank you so much Teri, Nina Yvonne and Trinia!
Spreading the Word, While Not Spreading the Virus!
3) Street Marketing: Oscar Tuesta with BACHAC leader Evelia Chairez hit the streets to hand out fliers in English, Spanish and Tongan about assistance for Census to small businesses in North Central San Mateo that served the Latinx, Pacific Islander and Japanese community members.
4) Social Media: Tuna Vahai is weekly posting information via on the Social media outlets to spread the word about the Census increasing our followers and likes. We also obtained a volunteer from these efforts and they are diving in to help with phone banking efforts. For more detail,s see the attached document.
5) Wellness Where You Are Series: We organized a session entitled, Faith Leaders, Census & COVID-19. The panel included Pastor Dr. Bussey, St. James AME Zion Church, Rev. Jorge Baptista, Congregational Church of San Mateo, Rev. Henry Adams, San Mateo Buddhist Temple and Mrs. Muna Saulala, St. Timothy's Catholic Church to discuss the important role of faith based organizations with the census during the COVID-19 pandemic. Oscar and Tuna will work with Rev. Bautista and Mrs Muna to further educate and engage the Latinx and Pacific Islander community. To review the slides and the Zoom recording, here's the link: https://www.bachac.org/wellness-where-you-are
6) Website Enhancements: Jennifer Donahue, our website developer and graphic artist worked with Thomasina to enhance our census information on the BACHAC website. Check out the three census sections:
Homepage: Features Video of Pastor Dr. Bussey talking about the Census and A Call To Action: https://www.bachac.org
General Census Information: General information about the census and photos from our kick off event: https://www.bachac.org/census-2020
Census 2020 Media Center: Download fliers, posters, view videos of Oscar (in Spanish) and Pastor Dr. Bussey: https://www.bachac.org/census-2020-media-center
What's Next for the Summer?
1) More Phone Banking Efforts: If you're interested in helping with phone calls, please contact Tuna Vhai at vaetuikoloavahai@gmail.com
2) Pop Up QACs: (due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to keep our team and community safe, BACHAC will have Pop Up QACs at outdoor areas only, utilizing safety measures (masks. 6 ft. distance, sanitizer, partitions and gloves)
Friday, July 10th 10am-Noon at Saint James AME Zion Church 825 Monte Diablo, San Mateo: Complete the Census and Toiletry Giveaway. Fliers will be available next week in English, Spanish and Tongan and I will send them out to the network. We are encouraging residents of North Central San Mateo to complete the census and get a free bag of toiletries. Supplies will be limited so encourage your family, friends, neighbors in North Central San Mateo to arrive on time and be ready to complete the Census
Distributing fliers at Samaritan House's Food Drive: If you are interested, please contact Oscar Tuesta at otuesta@gmail.com
More Targeted Street Marketing: Oscar and Evelia will hit specific areas (large apartment complexes) in North Central San Mateo. If you are interested, please contact Oscar at otuesta@gmail.com
For your volunteer efforts you'll receive a Census t-shirt, Census button and (masks, sanitizer and gloves if you are doing the street marketing or QAC Pop Up activities).
3) Participation in a Video Panel: Thomasina and I will participate on a panel this Tuesday, June 30th, 11am-12pm (PDT) to discuss best practices in challenging times.