As a part of the US Census Bureau's "Sports Collaborative" initiative, Bobbie Howard, former Chicago Bears linebacker, and Marques Sullivan, former player for the Buffalo Bills, New York Giants and New England Patriots, came to the Back of the Yards Campus to speak to the students about the importance of the Census.

The goal of this "Sports Collaborative" is to utilize the "star power" of NFL players to increase the hard-to-count areas in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

The speakers encouraged the students by asking them to "tell your parents you want to participate in bettering your community."  The speakers further stressed the importance of the Census by explaining that the data collected will determine the annual distribution of $400 billion in government funding, equaling $1,000 per child for critical community services.

Because Census data are also used to determine locations for retail stores, schools, hospitals, new housing developments and other community facilities, the speakers emphasized that, "The Census is important for you in another 10 or 20 years when you are adults and have families."

Check out photos of the visit on our Flickr page.

The "Sports Collaborative" also visited the Gary Comer Campus on November 11.

For more information about the "Sports Collaborative," contact Gwen Coleman at 312/454-3796.