Dec. 22, 2025
BY JOHN BAILEY
Generosity, collaboration and kindness are the hallmarks of the annual Catawba County Christmas Bureau, a collaborative effort among local nonprofits and public agencies to provide toys, clothing, coats and food to children and teenagers in need of assistance during the holiday season.
This year’s event wrapped up last week, Dec. 18, and served more than 850 families and approximately 2,200 youth (birth to age 12) from the Angel Tree program, including 590 teens (ages 13-17).
For everyone involved, this annual outreach is about more than the numbers.
“Everybody deserves a little help once in a while and when it comes to the kids this (Christmas Bureau) is a blessing,” Hickory single mom Lisa Cheuvront said. She has two daughters, ages 10 and 4.
Cheuvront knows Christmas isn’t all about presents, but it is a joyful moment for her when she sees her children’s faces light up opening their gifts.
“Kids deserve to hold onto that innocence of believing in something outside themselves, believing in the power of Christmas,” Cheuvront said.
Planning for the Christmas Bureau starts with meetings in January leading up to distribution days in December.
Toys are primarily gathered through The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program along with donations from Marine Toys for Tots and other local businesses such as H.T. Hackney.
The Hickory Soup Kitchen makes sure every family receives a Food Lion gift card as well. The Hickory Fire Department helps provide bikes for the event while Century Furniture helps purchase tricycles. Safe Kids Catawba County provided car seat checks the second day of distribution.
Teens aren't forgotten
The Catawba County United Way Teen Christmas program provides $50 in gift cards for ages 13-17 and partners with Shurtape Technologies, who helps support this outreach.
Catawba County United Way Executive Director Mark Bumgarner sees the CCUW’s Teen Christmas as a call to action for the county, giving citizens a moment to make a conscious decision about who they want to be both as a community and as individuals.
“Many of these teens, especially those referred from the school systems, are teens who are homeless, living independently or in situations where they have no familial support. They are a forgotten and invisible group,” Bumgarner said. “While I know gift cards don’t solve the monumental barriers they face, this is an opportunity to simply let them know they are seen and acknowledged, to let them know they are part of our community and they have value.”
The primary committee partners for the Christmas Bureau included: Catawba Co. Sheriff's Dept., Catawba Co. Partnership for Children, Catawba Co. Dept. of Social Services, Catawba County United Way, Catawba County School district, City of Hickory Fire Dept., Ashure Ministry, Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry, Hickory Soup Kitchen, Hickory Public School district, Marine Toys for Tots, Newton-Conover City School district, The Salvation Army of Greater Hickory and Safe Kids Catawba Co.
Maj. Karla Perez from The Salvation Army of Greater Hickory is inspired by this collaboration every year. She oversees the Angel Tree collection and the distribution days for the Christmas Bureau. She added the partnerships with local businesses as another key to the success of the Christmas Bureau each year.
“We found when we were picking up Angel Trees, that there was a company who took 69 angels off trees at Walmart’s. That was a huge boost for us,” Perez said. “And there are so many others who help us fulfill our Angels like Frye Hospital and CommScope and Walmart of course for putting up Angel Trees across the county.”
Perez was equally thankful for the hundreds of volunteers who came out in November and December to help set up and break down the Christmas Bureau Toy Shop, process and fill Angel Tree bags and help on the day of distribution to families.
The Christmas Bureau thanks the following local businesses who helped provide meals for volunteers during distribution: Publix in Hickory, Chicken Salad Chick, Conover Food Lion, Conover Walmart Super Center and Pepsi Bottling Group Hickory.
Learn more about the Christmas Bureau or how to get involved at THIS LINK.
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