As many of us learned in Sunday School classes or on the knee of a parent, we are all unique and special.

It’s a lesson that many of us forget at times, but one that U.S. Census Bureau workers hope to drive home with a new series of advertisements.

Census workers launched the advertising blitz with the hope that it will encourage each and every Mississippian to stand up and get counted in next year’s census.

It’s the first time the office has ever paid to advertise.

And the Census Bureau has certainly pulled out its media weapon with ads on television, radio, print and outdoor ads in 17 different languages.

The ads utilize messages for the general public as well as ones targeting specific ethnic groups.

We certainly hope the advertising campaign works because the census isn’t simply a count for the sake of counting citizens. Census results affect our state in a multitude of ways.

Many federal grants are based on statistics gleaned from census data.

Congressional representation is also based on the information.

Our state and our county has a lot to gain by giving an accurate count of our citizenry. And we really have nothing to lose.

Filling out the census forms only takes a few minutes.

Doing so doesn’t cost a person one single thing other than a little bit of time. And we think that small investment is more than worth the benefits we stand to reap.