Oct. 21, 2025
BY JOHN BAILEY
Being a teenager can be challenging.
Being a teen from a family struggling financially can seem impossible.
Being a teen who is homeless, can feel hopeless.
This is where the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) steps in to help every December with its Teen Christmas program.
This outreach supports families with teens (ages 13–17) during Christmas with $50 in gift cards. In 2024, the program helped 600 teens.
The CCUW also partners with high school and middle school counselors/social workers to identify teens who may be homeless, pregnant, displaced or abandoned. Last year that number was nearly 50.
The United Way’s Teen Christmas is part of the annual Catawba County Christmas Bureau held in mid-December. It is a collaborative effort by dozens of local organizations to provide clothing, coats, food cards and toys to families with children who are struggling financially.
Last year, the Christmas Bureau served 1,030 local families with a total of 2,742 youth.
Families qualify for the Christmas Bureau by showing financial need by being on government assistance or fall 150% below federal poverty guidelines. For proof of this, families have to provide an EBT (food stamp) award letter and/or all monthly income and expenses.
For those teens who have no parent to complete their Christmas Bureau applications, school personnel become their Christmas guardians completing the applications for them to connect them with the Teen Christmas program.
Donations to Teen Christmas are used to purchase gift cards from local stores (T.J. Maxx and Old Navy - $25 each) to help teens purchase clothing, shoes and personal hygiene items. The gift cards are handed out during the Christmas Bureau distribution days in December.
Vicki Toepper, a Catawba County Schools social worker shared this impact story about a student helped by Teen Christmas last year.
“United Way sponsored a young lady who was not allowed to remain at home and moved into a shelter. During this time, the student struggled to get simple hygiene items for herself. The shelter assisted her with basic items like clothing, shoes and of course shelter and food,” Toepper said.
“When she received her Christmas gift from the United Way, her face got so bright...she loved getting gift cards because she was able to shop for herself. The shopping experience was more of a gift than the things that she bought. I truly wish that the folks who had donated to the Teen Christmas program could have seen her face when she received her gift.”
Without the help from our donors in the community, this outreach would not be possible.
The Catawba County United Way is thankful for all the help it receives each year.
