"Building relationships to support our community with

collaboration, compassion and purpose."

Congratulations to Verna Wilson from Century Furniture. She is the first car drawing finalist in the 2023 Catawba County United Way Car Giveaway.

For the 12th year, the car will be donated by Paramount Automotive Group, and thank you to RLI – CPA, Certified Public Accountants for overseeing this year’s drawings.

Want to be part of this year’s United Way campaign?

Call 828-327-6851 or visit THIS LINK.

Thank You to everyone who supports the CCUW every year.

Past Car Giveaway winners:

• 2012 – Richard Jennings – Century
• 2013 – Barbara Cromer – The Salvation Army
• 2014 – Cody Myers – HSM
• 2015 – Marcie Boughman – DSS
• 2016 – Deborah Morel – DSS
• 2017 – Fred Roseberry – Century
• 2018 – Susan Estes – Conover School
• 2019 – Danny Miller – Shurtape
• 2020 – Amy Hedrick – Publix Lake Hickory Crossing
• 2021 – Meghan Stripling – Conover School
• 2022 – Margaret Bush – Conover School

The Catawba County United Way (CCUW) jump-started its 2023 campaign with another big night of free racing on Sept. 16.

In partnership with the Hickory Motor Speedway, the CCUW hosted its third annual Race United event with more than 3,300 in attendance. It was also the championship night for the speedway.

“What a fantastic way to kick off our campaign,” Catawba County United Way Executive Director Mark Bumgarner said. “Gathering the community together to celebrate and support each other is what we do best. United, can you imagine what we are going to do this year? I can’t wait.”

Along with being a free night of racing and fireworks, it was also an opportunity for community outreach. There were 24 local non-profits at the event’s Resource Fair, providing information about their services prior to the races.

Those agencies included: Exodus Homes, Catawba Co. Public Health, Catawba Valley Healthcare, Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry, Partnership for Children, Family Guidance Center, Catawba Alliance for Recovery, Council on Adolescence, The Salvation Army, The Corner Table Soup Kitchen, Carolina Caring, American Red Cross, Adult Life Programs, DSS Senior Nutrition Services, Neighbors Network, Hickory Soup Kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, Guardian Ad Litem, AIDS Leadership Foothills Area Alliance, Women’s Resource Center, Sipes Orchard Home, Patrick Beaver Learning Resources Center, Just Serve, and Pace at Home.

The CCUW also hosted a food drive at the event to benefit the food pantries at The Salvation Army, Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministry, The Hickory Soup Kitchen and The Corner Table Soup Kitchen in Newton.

“Community led food drives are important because they bring awareness of the need,” Kristal Manning, ECCCM executive director said.

Comparing the first eight months of 2022 to 2023, the agency has seen a 118 percent increase in the number of households receiving food assistance through their program. So far this year they have served 2,359 households.

“Community support is critical, and we could not continue doing what we do without the support of our donors, volunteers, and partner agencies,” Manning said.

The United Way also wants to thank this year’s sponsors of the race: Shuford Yarns, Shurtape Technologies, Vanguard Furniture, Pepsi Cola Bottling Co., Corning Incorporated Foundation, Cargo Transporters, Healthy Blue NC, Century Furniture LLC, NextEra Energy Constructors LLC, Truist Bank, Paramount Automotive Group and Publix.



For more information and photos visit www.ccunitedway.com/ready-race-united. 

Hi...to all our area Cross Country coaches. Don't miss out on this year's John F. Hall Catawba County United Way Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 11 at Southside Park in Newton and celebrates 30 years of competition and community outreach.

Registration will be on Milesplit NC, closes Oct. 4 at 7 p.m.

The password to access the entry form on https://nc.milesplit.com is, UNITED WAY 2023, all caps. As in the past, the registration amount due per school is $50. A check can be mailed to the Catawba County United Way - PO Box 2425 Hickory NC 28603. Put Cross Country on the memo line. You can bring a check or pay with a card the day of the event.

Food plus…

Gift bags for teams will be provided with t-shirts and other items for each runner. A food tent will also be available for runners and their families. We will have extra water stations at the finish line along with emergency services and a trainer on site.

If you have any questions, just let us know, 828-357-6851 or visit

Details at THIS LINK.

School just started back up but the Catawba County Christmas Bureau “Elves” are already hard at work preparing for this year’s annual event to be held on Dec. 12 and 13. 

The Christmas Bureau is a collaborative effort among many Catawba County agencies and organizations to provide toys, food, clothing and coats to children and teenagers in need of assistance during the Christmas season.

In 2022, that meant helping more than 800 families representing 2,000 individual Angel Tree children and 474 teens.

Applications taken in October

Visit www.ecccm.org/cccb to select your appointment time and location.

There will be a limited number of online applications as well. For online applications visit to www.saangeltree.org. 

If you cannot access the online appointment site, call 828-322-2535 to schedule an appointment. There are a limited number of appointments available so schedule your appointment ASAP.



Appointment times will be available Oct. 2 – 26 (Mondays – Thursdays) 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. and Oct. 10 and 19, 6 – 8 p.m.. Do not bring children.

To make your appointment go smoother, bring all required documentation and complete an information sheet for each child.

What’s Required to Register

·        Photo ID or passport for each applying adult.

·        Birth certificate or Medicaid card with date of birth for all children ages.

·        0-17 and still attending school in the household.

·        Custody papers as applicable.

·        Current food stamp award letter OR proof of all monthly income and expenses.

·        Proof of Catawba County residency.

·        17 and under and still in school – use additional paper if needed.

·        Prepare information for all children in household: name, birth date, gender, needs,

wishes, favorite color – tv show – animal, clothing type – infant – toddler- child, shoe size, coat, pants waist, pants length, shirt, bra.

If you have any questions or want to learn about being a volunteer for the event (we can always use the extra Elves to help) call 828-327-6851 or email John Bailey at the Catawba County United Way – jbailey@ccunitedway.com.

See 2022 PHOTOS at THIS LINK. 



From food resources, emergency financial assistance, housing, healthcare, transportation - NC 211 can help you find out which services are available in your community. Call 2-1-1 or 1-888-892-1162 or visit nc211.org.

Catawba County United Way is one of several community partners who help fund this program.