July 20, 2026
BY JOHN BAILEY
Week 2 of the United Way School Supply Drive and we continue to pick up speed.
Our goal – collect classroom supplies to help local public school students get the tools they need to succeed.
And…there is still plenty of time to jump on board and help with the collection.
Drop off donations at the United Way office – 2760 Tate Blvd SE in Hickory – or host a drive of your own through your business, church or civic group.
Catawba County Schools Social Worker, Nichole Silver said homeless families are heavily impacted by the United Way School Supply Drive each year.
“A lot of our families come here, locally or from out of state and they don’t have anything with them, so those children walk in sometimes with clothes that don’t fit,” Silver said. “They don’t have the items they need to be successful in the classroom. We try to take care of that as soon as they walk into the building and enroll versus putting the burden on the teachers.”
She remembers one elementary school student who came to Catawba County from out of state. Her mother had basically disappeared, so the young girl moved in with a father who she never knew existed.
“She was enrolled into school and all she cared about was a pink bookbag,” Silver smiled remembering that moment. She knew they had that pink bookbag because of the United Way School Supply Drive.
“That’s what she needed to feel comfortable in a new school with new people that she already had anxiety about anyway. We have lots of families we impact that way, but that one really touched my heart,” Silver said.
If you’d like to support the United Way School Supply Drive, call John at the United Way – 828-327-6851.
Thank You again to all of our current collection partners and everyone who has made a donation.
And we still need Volunteers to help with processing donations the second week of August.
Sign-up at THIS LINK.
