"Building relationships to support our community with

collaboration, compassion and purpose."

Hey everybody, Mark Bumgarner (Catawba County United Way Executive Director) here. By now, you’ve likely seen the plea from Family Guidance Center regarding their precarious financial situation. I received a call recently from their director informing me they had less than a month’s supply of cash to maintain operating.

Like you, I’m gutted that one of our partners may have to shut its doors, leaving a gap in crucial and critical services. Please know that Catawba County United Way is working diligently to try to ensure a plan continuity for the vital domestic violence and sexual assault services that may be impacted by this possible closure. 

I am meeting with community members, government and other agencies to try to ensure we have a path forward for these services. We have asked Family Guidance to work with us on transition plans, as this represents best practice. 

With or without this, Catawba County United Way will be working to ensure there is as little disruption as possible, and that those in need will be served while a transition occurs. 

I would like to take a moment to reinforce a message I have often carried. Nonprofits are critical to the health of a community. But we must conduct ourselves ethically and with transparency and diligence. You are a part of this. I encourage you to look at the 990 filings of an agency, which hopefully the agency makes easily available. If not, you can find them at web sites like Guidestar (guidestar.org). 

Agencies should never mind being held accountable – in fact a well-functioning agency welcomes this as it builds trust in their community. Do not be guilted into contributing. If an agency’s justification for a request for funding is along the lines of “we deserve it,” be wary. 

Most nonprofits are worthy of your investment, and we want to prove to you why. We want to show you how we make our community, and your life better by what we do. A well-functioning nonprofit organization wants to earn your respect before they earn your dollars. 

This is a heavy-hearted message. I firmly believe that sometime kindness and compassion are best achieved by taking the uneasy path. Our actions may not feel good in the moment but in the end the difficult actions lead to making a situation better. I believe that this is the case for FGC’s situation.

Our community will not be left without vital services for those caught in domestic violence or sexual assault. There are too many of us fighting for the continuation of services. Soon, you may be asked to join us. I hope you will. I assure you we’ll be happy to show you we’ve earned your support.



United,

Mark 

By John Bailey

Catawba County United way



The more you know, the more empowered you are to make a positive change in your community.

This belief is what inspired this week’s Point-in-Time (PIT) homeless count by the five counties that make up Region 3 of the North Carolina Continuums of Care group - Catawba, Burke, Alexander, McDowell and Caldwell.

This was the first time a PIT summer count has been held in the state, according to Amber Brafford, Partners Health Management Housing Specialist and chair of the Housing Visions group in Catawba County.

“For us and all the other grassroot agencies we work with, our lot in the world is to help people, and being able to do this enables that to happen better,” Brafford said Wednesday during the count. “With this additional data, we have more room for advocacy at the state level with HUD.”

The PIT count is a count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night. The official PIT count is held annually every January and is mandated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and affects the amount of funding granted to regions in each state to support outreach programs addressing homelessness.

This summer the North Carolina Museum of Art once again partnered with The Salvation Army of Greater Hickory Boys and Girls Club through the Artist Innovation Mentorship outreach program (NCMA AIM) by offering visual arts mixed media and photography classes with photographer Jane St. Clair, and Melissa Crosson, who is the teaching artist for the NCMA AIM program in the western part of the state.

The community is invited to attend a one-of-a-kind art and photography exhibition, featuring the Boys and Girls Club Summer Camp participants. The exhibit will feature 2-3 photographs from each participant as well as various art pieces and will be open to the public on Thursday, Aug. 1 from 3:30-5 p.m. in the fellowship hall of the Salvation Army of Greater Hickory Administrative Building, located at 750 3^rd Ave. Pl. SE, Hickory, NC 28602. Come out to celebrate these students through their summer of visual art and photography.

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 programs and 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.

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