South Queens, New York – This Monday, July 13^th, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-South Queens) joins Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN) and citywide community leaders to celebrate 4^th grade Student Census advocates in a LIVE Youth Shout Out! ¡Tú Cuentas! Census 2020. This event hosted by HITN, celebrates more than 150 Essay submissions to the ¡Tú Cuentas! 2020 Census Essay Writing Contest inspired by fourth grade students across five boroughs. Student submissions from PS197 Q, in Far Rockaway were featured among the contest submissions.

“I am so proud that PS 197 in Far Rockaway is represented in this contest, and for developing the next wave of civically engaged young people, “said Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato. “Our community is consistently undercounted, and the students of PS 197 are taking action against that and spreading awareness about the census. It is so crucial to inform and educate our communities about what is at stake and encourage participation to secure access to essential resources and visibility across political, social, and economic arenas.”

The ¡Tú Cuentas! 2020 Census Essay Writing Contest was launched by HITN in partnership with CUNY and Schneps Media across hard-to-count communities in the city’s five boroughs. Over 150 fourth-grade students from 15 schools participated. Contest finalists are now gearing up for the final countdown as public voting begins on July 15^th and runs through August 15^th. Essays from the top 15 student finalists will be showcased at https://censusessay.hitn.org/. The contest winner will receive the title of HITN NYC Student Census Ambassador. The online panel will be moderated by Naomi Rivera, Executive Director of Government Affairs at HITN.