"Building relationships to support our community with

collaboration, compassion and purpose."

Every year, the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) partners with local non-profits who are champions of improving the lives of youth and teens.

In a new weekly series, the CCUW will introduce the 2024 funded programs working in this impact area, highlighting how education is more than just grades and attendance.

This week – Council on Adolescents of Catawba County

By Samantha Gambill

Catawba County United Way

The Council on Adolescents (COA) of Catawba County provides local students with a different type of education.

The COA is a nonprofit organization that provides healthy youth education programs to children across Catawba County and Hickory City Public school districts.

The Council on Adolescents mission is “to inspire today’s youth to be physically and emotionally healthy through education, awareness, and advocacy,” Council on Adolescents.

“We talk about peer pressure,” COA Executive Director Jordan Ledford said.

“It’s not just about puberty and reproductive health. We talk about healthy and unhealthy relationships, we talk about goals and risks, and setting those goals, and staying focused on those goals, and why you may not want to participate in risky activities.”

These state mandated courses are taught to children in 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th grade. There is also a booster course for 10^th grade students. The courses are age-appropriate and medically accurate. 

“Education is powerful,” Ledford said. “They do make good decisions if they have the correct information.”

Ledford has found that since the healthy youth act was passed in 2010, the number of teen pregnancies in Catawba County has decreased from 260 to 126. 

The Catawba County United Way thanks NC Emergency Management employees Audrey Moore and Alfreda Bryant for recently spending time at the CCUW office helping families affected by the January tornado in Claremont. Moore and Bryant helped the families complete disaster loan paperwork. The United Way thanks everyone who has been part of this outreach. Visit sba.gov/disaster to learn more.

Start making your nominations on April 12.

The Catawba County United Way's mission is focused on building relationships to support our community with collaboration, compassion and purpose. This means we're busy every year with various events that address local needs and encourage community partnerships. See the links below to learn more or call 828-327-6851.

Review the eligibility guidelines. If you are not sure if you are eligible, we suggest you apply anyway.

There are many ways to apply. You can apply online, by phone, email, mail, fax, or in person. See below for more details.

You can apply at any time of the year. It can take up to 45 calendar days (or up to 90 calendar days for disability applications) for your local Department of Social Services (DSS) to make a decision on your application. It can take longer if your application is missing information.

Do not wait — apply now. You may be eligible for Medicaid health care coverage for the last 3 months of medical bills starting from the date you apply.

Free help is available. If you do not speak English well, call your local DSS and ask the operator for an interpreter. If you have a disability and need communication assistance, call the NC Medicaid Contact Center 1-888-245-0179 (TTY: 711 or RelayNC.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 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 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, 365 days a year.

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