Better Together Moorestown Tackles Diversity With New Survey

MOORESTOWN, NJ — A task force that was assembled to explore issues of diversity and inclusion in Moorestown is now taking input from the community.

Better Together Moorestown launched a community survey earlier this week with the goal of collecting the thoughts and opinions of all people who work and live in Moorestown.

The 24-question survey breaks things down by age, race, ethnicity and gender, and asks residents questions about if they feel welcome in Moorestown and how safe they feel sharing their points of view. The survey can be found here.

Better Together Moorestown started off as the Moorestown Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Task Force, assembled by Deputy Mayor Sue Mammarella and Councilman Quinton Law. Read more here: Moorestown’s Diversity Task Force Promoting Inclusion, Awareness

It started off with between 25 and 33 volunteers, Better Together Moorestown representative Barbara Schwartz told Township Council during a public presentation Monday night.

They held nine meetings and put in about 350 hours of work, with another 190 hours dedicated to just putting the survey together.

“We want all perspectives,” Schwartz said. “We want to hear your stories. We want to know how welcoming a town we are.”

They wanted to get the word out to everyone, so in addition to posting the survey online, a link can be found on the group’s new website and flyers are being posted around town with a QR code that can be scanned via smartphone, so the survey can be taken on the spot.

There is also a phone number and email address on the website that people can call if they need help taking the survey.

“Survey participation is the foundation to understanding the survey,” Schwartz said. “Change is driven by the voices in the community.”

The voices come in different languages. There are survey options for those who speak English, Spanish and Mandarin. The group wanted to include other languages, but they ran out of time, and those are the three most popular languages spoken in the township.

Those voices were already being heard on the Moorestown BIPOC Instagram group, but Better Together Moorestown is looking to take input from a wider portion of the community. After analyzing the results, they will be presented to Township Council in November, Schwartz said.

The committee was unofficial to begin with, but may become a permanent part of the community in order to tackle any issues that arise from the survey, Schwartz said.

“The amount of time you put in is impressive,” Law said. “Change takes action, and that’s what this task force is doing. I’m proud of them, and I’m proud of this town.”

See related:
Forum Tackles Racial Disparities In Moorestown Schools
Moorestown Mayor Named To County Civil Rights Task Force