News

Feb. 3, 2025     BY JOHN BAILEY  jbailey@ccunitedway.com   On Monday, Jan. 27, Catawba County United Way Executive Director Mark Bumgarner was notified that the Blue Ridge Piedmont Chapter of the American Red Cross would be setting up an emergency shelter for those who were displaced by a fire that night at Hickory Gardens senior living Apartments. The shelter was hosted at Christ Lutheran Church in Hickory and housed up to 11 of the 30-plus…
Jan. 28, 2025   The Catawba County United Way is excited to welcome Chicken Salad Chick in Hickory (972 2nd St NE) to the CCUW’s Small Businesses Love Big initiative.  This is an opportunity for small companies in Catawba County (50 employees or less) to invest back into their communities by supporting local non-profit programs. Each participating SBLB company contributes $365 a year, which will be used to fund this new Catawba County United…
Jan. 27, 2025   The Catawba County Youth Council is accepting Requests for Funding Proposals (RFPs) targeted to address the impact areas of health and education as they relate to the needs and wellbeing of children and youth in our community.    Applications will open on the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) website Feb. 7 (see link below). The Youth Council partners with the CCUW in this annual community investment process. The RFP…
Jan.22, 2025   The Catawba County United Way (CCUW) will start its 2025 large Request for Funding grant cycle this February.  On Feb. 4 at 8:30 a.m., the CCUW will host a meeting with interested agencies to introduce them to this year's RFP cycle. The meeting will be hybrid at the CCUW office - 2760 Tate Blvd SE in Hickory and via the attached Microsoft Teams Link. The meeting will review the application process but is not required to apply for…
Jan. 17, 2025   BY JOHN BAILEY jbailey@ccunitedway.com   Getting to work.  Getting kids to school. Getting to medical appointments. Buying groceries. Running errands. Just trying to accomplish those tasks necessary every day to succeed in life. The Catawba County United Way (CCUW) recognizes access to dependable transportation is a significant challenge for individuals and families who struggle to make ends meet. For this reason, the CCUW…
Jan. 8, 2025 (updated Jan. 13)   BY JOHN BAILEY jbailey@ccunitedway.com   The Catawba County United Way (CCUW) is hosting a donation drive through January to support this year’s Point-in-Time (PIT) count - a count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night. Those homeless individuals and families who participate in the count will have an opportunity to pick up items collected from the community. The purpose of the count…
Dec. 20, 2024 (updated Jan. 21, 2025)   BY JOHN BAILEY jbailey@ccunitedway.com   The Salvation Army of Greater Hickory’s Maj. Karla Perez thought her first time participating in the Catawba County Christmas Bureau was great.  She and her husband Maj. Enrique Perez transferred to Hickory this past summer and while this was their 20th year organizing an Angel Tree program, it was their first time experiencing the local Christmas Bureau. “It was…
Dec. 12, 2024   BY JOHN BAILEY jbailey@ccunitedway.com   Tanya Miller from Shurtape Technologies is the 2024 Catawba County United Way’s Car Giveaway winner.  She was one of 10 finalists drawn each week since September by Martin Starnes & Associates, CPAs, P.A. for a chance to win a new car donated by Paramount Automotive Group in Hickory. Each finalist had a chance to start the car with a key pulled at random and it was Miller’s that…
Dec. 2, 2024   BY JOHN BAILEY jbailey@ccunitedway.com   Last year, nearly 100,000 individuals in North Carolina requested help with housing/shelter from NC 211- https://nc211.org/.  During the months with extreme temperature ranges those needs become even more crucial which is why local organizations work together to help make sure there is some place for those in need to go. “I think the impact of the warming stations is pretty profound,”…
Nov. 22, 2024   BY JOHN BAILEY jbailey@ccunitedway.com     Life can throw a roadblock up in front of anyone at any time.  For many of us, this untimely crisis can be traumatic but not insurmountable. We have family, friends, financial resources, the knowledge needed to recover from this downturn in our life. But for others with less, a life crisis could mean the end of having transportation, employment, a home, hope. Every year, the Catawba…