Dikembe Mutombo is no longer playing NBA basketball, but that's not stopping him from trying to make a difference. The 7-footer partnered with the U.S. Census to encourage both African-Americans and Africans living in the United States to take part in the national count. Mutombo will also somehow "utilize the Census information for outreach projects to improve the quality of life for the people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," according to a press release. We're not sure how that will help the folks in Congo, but Mutombo sure is excited about the partnership:

"An accurate Census means that communities will have the necessary organizations to service its people," Mutombo said in a statement. "That's why it is important for everyone to be counted, even those of us who are from Africa and other countries. If we want to take advantage of what our community has to offer, we need to be counted as well."

Mutombo will act as a spokesperson for the Census and will add information to his foundation's website, http://www.dmf.org. In the 2000 Census, there were 881,300 Africans living in the United States, which accounted for 3 percent of the foreign-born population. That number is expected to grow.