News
Aug. 30, 2024
BY JOHN BAILEY
jbailey@ccunitedway.com
Having enough emergency, transitional and affordable housing is a complex challenge for any community to face, but for a neighborhood in Hickory a piece of that puzzle has been found.
This past Thursday, the Catawba County United Way attended Habitat for Humanity of Catawba Valley’s (HHCV) groundbreaking ceremony for The Cottages at Ridgeview in Hickory.
Back in 2017, HHCV Executive…
Aug. 22, 2024
BY JOHN BAILEY
jbailey@ccunitedway.com
The annual Catawba County United Way School Supply Drive is about meeting immediate and future needs of local public-school students.
This year nearly 9,000 items were collected by 30 community partners.
Whether it’s helping a homeless family get a backpack for their child for the first day of school, or it’s making sure classroom supplies like glue sticks and composition books are still…
Aug. 9, 2024
BY JOHN BAILEY
jbailey@ccunitedway.com
(The following is the complete two-part series about the Rapid Rehousing program in Catawba County.)
In the last year, NC 211 received nearly 1,000 calls for help with housing in Catawba County. Among those calls were 299 for emergency shelters and 370 for rent assistance.
The local Rapid Rehousing program is one resource available to help, and leading this initiative is Chasity Houck,…
July 26, 2024
From Mark Bumgarner - Catawba County United Way executive director
Hey everybody, Mark here. By now, you’ve likely seen the plea from Family Guidance Center regarding their precarious financial situation. I received a call recently from their director informing me they had less than a month’s supply of cash to maintain operating.
Like you, I’m gutted that one of our partners may have to shut its doors, leaving a gap in…
July 26, 2024
BY JOHN BAILEY
jbailey@ccunitedway.com
The more you know, the more empowered you are to make a positive change in your community.
This belief is what inspired this week’s Point-in-Time (PIT) homeless count by the five counties that make up Region 3 of the North Carolina Continuums of Care group - Catawba, Burke, Alexander, McDowell and Caldwell.
This was the first time a PIT summer count has been held in the state, according…
July 12, 2024
HealthNet Gaston was recently awarded the Youth Homelessness System Improvement (YHSI) Grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Catawba County is one of 20 NC counties that the YHSI will focus on, starting this fall. The goal is to establish and implement a response system for rural youth homelessness (through age 24).
This will include:
· Improve the capacity of youth in participating…
July 2, 2024
BY JOHN BAILEY
jbailey@ccunitedway.com
If you have children, you know how long a box of crayons or pencils or a notebook lasts during the school year – not as long as you’d like.
This is why the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) knows it’s never too early to start thinking about helping local families prepare for the new school year by supporting our annual United Way School Supply drive through July.
Donations can be dropped…
June 28, 2024
BY JOHN BAILEY
jbailey@ccunitedway.com
Regardless of how you define the roots of poverty in any community, it tends to boil down to the issue of access – access to education, access to housing, access to jobs, access to food, access to healthcare, access to transportation.
All these issues on their own or together can set a person on a downward spiral in life.
And every year, the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) works to…
June 21, 2024
BY JOHN BAILEY
jbailey@ccunitedway.com
From car seats to weekend feeding programs to helping students with significant disabilities, this year’s Catawba County Youth Council chose to support a wide variety of local nonprofit programs through its annual Community Grant Cycle.
This process is in partnership with the Catawba County United Way who provides a total of $10,000 to be distributed among the chosen programs based off the…
June 14, 2024
BY JOHN BAILEY
jbailey@ccunitedway.com
Dependable.
Compassionate.
Encouraging.
A Mentor. An Advocate. A Friend.
These are just a few ways the group of nominees for the 2024 Giving From the Heart (GFH) Volunteer Awards were described at the annual event hosted by the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) on Tuesday.
The luncheon is an opportunity to recognize the selfless work so many across the county do every day for those in need…