"Building relationships to support our community with

collaboration, compassion and purpose."

The Catawba County United Way (CCUW) recently received the Community Resiliency: Disaster Relief and Recovery Award during the United Way of North Carolina’s Spirit of NC presentations, held in Gastonia.

The CCUW’s recognition was based off the role it played during the recovery efforts in Western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene last year. Acting as a donation and supply coordination site, the CCUW staff and its volunteers helped move approximately 4.6 million pounds of emergency supplies to counties affected by the storm.

The CCUW was also able to help evenly distribute $104,000 among nine United Ways in the areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

The Catawba County United Way partnered with 10 other nonprofits through its annual Small Businesses Love Big grant cycle in 2024, impacting more than 3,000 lives.

This initiative was supported by 19 Catawba County small businesses.

Visit the links below to learn specifics about the impact of four of those programs.

• The Kindness Project, restoring hope one meal at a time

• Family Care Center provides hope for families facing homelessness



• HOPE Center makes sure transportation is not a barrier for the unsheltered

• Women's Resource Center offers a lifeline during a crisis

Interested in being part of this community initiative, email Mark Bumgarner at mburmgarner@ccunitedway.com or call 828-327-6851 or visit THIS LINK.

City of Hickory housing rehabilitation programs - aim to improve the quality of the local housing stock and make improvements that prevent the displacement of low to moderate income homeowners. The following programs are only available to homeowners that live inside the Hickory city limits:

The Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program provides loans of up to $25,000 to homeowners whose household income does not exceed 80% of the area median income.

The Urgent Repair Program provides forgivable loans to homeowners of up to $12,000 to households with special needs whose income does not exceed 50% of the statewide median income. 

More Details at THIS LINK.

SUN Bucks is back for the summer of 2025 - This coming summer, eligible families can receive a one-time payment of $120 per eligible child to help purchase groceries while school is out.

SUN Bucks, a USDA program, provides benefits on a debit-like card that can be used to buy healthy food at grocery stores, farmers markets, and some online retailers. This is a great way to ensure your children have access to nutritious food during the summer break. Want to learn more about what SUN Bucks is and how it can help your family?

call 1-866-719-0141 for more details.



Or visit THIS LINK.

MyFriendBen has come to North Carolina - MyFriendBen is a one-stop online tool that takes 5 minutes to fill out.

Who does MyFriendBen help? North Carolinians who are looking for benefits and tax credits they are likely eligible to receive.

What kind of service programs can MyFriendBen find? Programs include food assistance, health insurance, child care subsidies and more.

More Details at THIS LINK.

Now Hiring - Catawba County Social Services is recruiting for a Senior Nutrition Manager. Learn more about the organization, this position, and other job opportunities with Catawba County at https://www.catawbacountync.gov/county-services/hr-landing/

Council on Adolescents of Catawba County is hiring a full-time Mentoring Program Coordinator. This role involves coordinating the Lunch Buddy & Graduation Coach programs, making a significant impact on the lives of youth.

What you'll do: Recruit and manage volunteers, Expand mentoring programs, Collaborate with schools and agencies, Plan parent engagement events.

Send your resume to Jordan Ledford, JLedford@coacatawba.org

For more details and information please visit, www.coacatawba.org

The Catawba County United Way is seeking a Director of Resource Development.

Please see attached Job Description. Interested parties must submit an application and resume. Applications can be requested from and submitted to Mark Bumgarner at mbumgarner@ccunitedway.com.

Completed applications can also be mailed to PO Box 2425 Hickory NC 28603.

Eligibility requirements include:

• Nominee’s volunteer organization must serve the community in Catawba County.
• Volunteer nominated by a non-profit (501 C3) or a governmental agency to receive the award.
• Volunteer has served at least a year at nominating non-profit.
• Youth award - Individual 18 years or younger. Youth groups are eligible for the Group Award.
• An adult, youth or group is eligible in one category only.
• Group Award is for groups of 2 or more individuals.
• Applications due by May 16.

Questions? Contact John Bailey at the CCUW - 828-327-6851, or jbailey@ccunitedway.com.

We've all heard the phrase - "It takes a village," and in the non-profit world it's true. The Catawba County United Way enjoys building relationships with its community partners and sees how much greater our impact is because of our collective efforts every day.

Below are some upcoming non-profit events from just a few of those partners...please share, and if you're interested, the Catawba County Interagency Council meets the second Thursday every month (10:30 a.m.) at the United Way office - 2760 Tate Blvd SE in Hickory.

Call 828-327-6851 for more information or email jbailey@ccunitedway.com.

NC 211 is the United Way of North Carolina's health and human services information line.

For help - Call NC 211 by dialing 2-1-1 or (888) 892 1162 or visit THIS LINK. Open 24/7.

The Catawba County United Way is a proud to help fund NC 211 locally.