"Building relationships to support our community with

collaboration, compassion and purpose."

The Catawba County United Way (CCUW) will start its 2025 large Request for Funding grant cycle this February. 

On Feb. 4 at 8:30 a.m., the CCUW will host a meeting with interested agencies to introduce them to this year's RFP cycle. The meeting will be hybrid at the CCUW office - 2760 Tate Blvd SE in Hickory and via the attached Microsoft Teams Link.

The meeting will review the application process but is not required to apply for funding.

The RFP grant applications will open on Feb. 17 on the CCUW’s web portal and are due by midnight March 24.

Applying organizations must either be incorporated as a not-for-profit, tax-exempt entity or have a 501-C3 legal status within Catawba County, who comply with applicable legal, federal state and local operating and reporting requirements (e.g. government approved accounting practices, annual audit, 990, nondiscrimination policy).

This allocation process is for grant requests of at least $10,000.

Also, those being considered must be operated by an active, responsible and voluntary governing body and adhere to a locally developed and adopted code of ethics for volunteers and staff, which include provisions for ethical management, publicity, fundraising practices and full and fair disclosure.

If you have any questions, contact John Bailey at the Catawba County United Way, 828-327-6851 or by email jbailey@ccunitedway.com.

Those organizations selected to complete final Requests for Funding will be notified. All grant amounts are contingent on funds raised. 

On Jan. 21, 2025, the Hickory City Council voted to transfer the Hickory Public Housing Authority (HPHA) to the Western Piedmont Council of Governments (WPCOG) effective July 1, 2025, and appointed the WPCOG executive director as the interim executive director of the HPHA during that transition period.

The WPCOG makes the following statement regarding that action:

“We thank the Hickory City Council for its confidence in the WPCOG to manage its public housing program. The WPCOG has served as a public housing authority since 1978 with a strong record of good administration and success for its clients and participating landlords.

The priorities during the transition include:

• Good service to HPHA housing clients and landlords.

• A commitment to accountability and transparency.

• Providing support to the HPHA staff to do their job well.

• Strong relationship with the existing HPHA Board of

Commissioners.

• Strong cooperation with the City of Hickory.

• Assessment of the operational and financial conditions of the

HPHA.

No HPHA housing clients will lose their housing assistance due to this transfer to the WPCOG.

This year’s Point In Time count in Catawba County will be held on Jan. 30, organized by Housing Visions Continuum of Care Catawba.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that Continuums of Care (CoCs) conduct an annual count of homeless persons who are sheltered in emergency shelter, transitional housing and Safe Havens on a single night.

The results of the PIT count affect the amount of funding granted to regions in each state to support outreach programs addressing homelessness.

By John Bailey

Catawba County United Way

Frostbite is the freezing of skin and the body tissue, while hypothermia is a dangerously low body temperature, according to the National Weather Service.

For the last few weeks, these have been significant dangers to all the unsheltered homeless living in Catawba County.

Several local nonprofits have been at the forefront of providing warming stations and transportation for those seeking a safe place to stay warm when temperatures fall to or below freezing.

“We saw there was a need, and those we were already serving with meals would ask us if there was anywhere they could go to get out of the cold,” The Kindness Project Hickory President Ashley Dellinger said. “There are some older folks who don’t have the technology to go online and get some of this information. It can be too far to walk, sometimes miles, so we decided we needed to step in and help.”

The Kindness Project volunteers started by taking their clients to the First United Methodist Church of Newton’s emergency shelter, and then as it started to fill up, to The Salvation Army’s Shelter of Hope in Hickory.

They’ve also helped with transportation to and from Strong Live Ministries in Conover when it was used as an overflow warming station.

On a recent Sunday, they picked up an older man, a veteran, at one of the encampments and took him to a warming station. The staff at the site saw how badly his feet looked and took him to the hospital where they learned he had severe frostbite.

Dellinger said she will be following up on his care and reaching out to other nonprofits and public agencies, including Veteran’s groups for additional support.

The Kindness Project transported 20 individual to the various night warming stations in the last couple of weeks, averaging 4-5 a day. Contact The Kindness Project at KindnessProjectHky@gmail.com.

The Catawba County United Way was thrilled to join so many others from the community Thursday to celebrate the 100th year of service by The Salvation Army in the Greater Hickory region. Including Catawba, The Salvation Army of Greater Hickory and the High Country serves 9 counties. Among the many services the agency provides, highlights include shelter for the homeless, food pantry resources, crisis financial assistance, disaster response services, Boys and Girls Club services and transitional living program for men. The United Way has been a proud partner of our local Salvation Army for more than 7 decades. Thank You to all the staff and volunteers who have helped The Salvation Army provide assistance for 100 years in the Greater Hickory area.

COUNTY LIBRARY HELPS WITH DIGITAL LITERACY - In November, the Catawba County Library launched an new program designed to help bridge the digital divide and ensure everyone in our community has the skills they need to thrive in today’s technology-driven world. 

These  bilingual digital navigators will travel around the county, partnering with local organizations like Centro Latino, Seniors Morning Out, the Neighbors Network in Conover, and Foothills Veterans Helping Veterans.

Equipped with a mobile computer lab and projector, they can set up a fully functional teaching space anywhere. Using resources like NorthStar Digital Literacy and The Achievery, available in both English and Spanish, they create customized lesson plans to meet the unique needs of each participant.

CITY OF HICKORY HUMAN RELATIONS AWARDS - The City of Hickory Community Relations Council (CRC) is currently accepting applications for the 2025 Human Relations Awards.

The annual Human Relations Awards are designed to recognize any individual, youth, organization, or business that has gone above and beyond in promoting good human relations in the City of Hickory.

The community is encouraged to nominate individuals or organizations that support the CRC’s mission and excel in promoting positive human relations in the City of Hickory and beyond. Nominees need to be currently involved in promoting human relations within the City of Hickory.

Nominee applications can be found on the CRC’s webpage on the City’s website.

Completed applications are due to the Hickory CRC by Friday, Feb. 28. 

LITERACY VOLUNTEER TUTORS STILL NEEDED -

There's just one more chance to train as an Augustine Literacy Project tutor before the school year ends. Next week, Jan. 27-31, a training will be held for those interested in being a volunteer.

 Interested in helping a child by training as tutor? Call the office at 828-624-2012 or message this page to find out more.

Patrick Beaver Learning Center provides tutoring through the Hickory Augustine Literacy Program to improve the reading, writing and spelling abilities of children from low-income families who struggle with literacy skills - grades K-3.

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 nonprofit 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.