"Building relationships to support our community with

collaboration, compassion and purpose."

The Catawba County United Way (CCUW) will jump-start its 2024 campaign with another free night of racing this Saturday, Sept. 14.

The event is in partnership with the Hickory Motor Speedway. Gates open at 4:45 p.m. and this is championship night at the speedway. The first race starts at 7 p.m.

Along with being a free night of racing and fireworks, it is also an opportunity for community outreach. Prior to the start of racing, a resource fair with more than two dozen local non-profits will be held, providing information about their services.

Resource Fair Agencies: Exodus Homes, Catawba Co. Public Health, Catawba Valley Healthcare, Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry, Catawba Alliance for Recovery, The Salvation Army of Greater Hickory, American Red Cross, Community Care NC, Habitat for Humanity, Pace at Home, DSS Senior Nutrition Services, Just Serve, Women’s Resource Center, Adult Life Programs, Hickory Soup Kitchen, Guardian Ad Litem, Safe Harbor, Claremont Lions Club, The Kindness Project, Catawba Co. Public Library Book Bus, Malorie’s Place, Strong Life Ministries, Infinite Beginnings NC, Catawba Co. Partnership for Children and Sipes Orchard Home.

The CCUW is also hosting a food drive at the event to benefit the food pantries at The Salvation Army, Ashure Ministry, The Hickory Soup Kitchen and The Corner Table Soup Kitchen in Newton. Donations can be dropped off in collection bins at both entry gates.

Again, admission is free to the public and the CCUW looks forward to celebrating the impact of all these agencies during Hickory Motor Speedway’s championship night.



The United Way also wants to thank this year’s sponsors of the race: Truist Bank, Pepsi Cola Bottling Co., Vanguard Furniture, Century Furniture, LLC, Cargo Transporters, Shurtape Technologies, Duke Energy – Marshall Steam Station, Shuford Yarns, Corning and Publix.

Registration for this year’s Catawba County United Way John F. Hall XC Invitational.

is currently open on NC Milesplit - https://nc.milesplit.com. 

The password to access the entry form is, UNITED WAY 2024, all caps. 

Registration Closes on Oct. 2 at midnight.

The invitational will be held on Oct. 9 at Southside Park in Newton.

There is a cap of 28 teams, so make sure you register as soon as you can.

Entry limited to 21 males and 21 females per school. Start line space is limited.

While this is a competitive event, this XC event is also about inspiring community outreach among local youth.

Running to make a difference

This year's special guest is Martin Parnell, who exemplifies the positive impact of a charitable heart.

Parnell has run in more than 300 marathons and raised over $1,000,000 for children in need. He also ran a special marathon in Afghanistan to raise awareness of women’s rights and gender equality. The CCUW will be hosting a special showing of “The Secret Marathon,” a documentary of his experience in Afghanistan at the Drendel Auditorium in Hickory on Oct. 8 at 6 p.m.

We’re inviting all the teams attending the invitational to watch the documentary if they are able.

Registration Fee

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 also pay by credit card on the United Way website at: https://www.ccunitedway.com/form/donate. Make sure you write in Cross Country Invitational in the Memo box at the bottom of the page.

Teams can also bring a check the day of the meet, but please let us know in advance that you will.  

Service Project

And remember, a Service Project in your community is required of each team. Project reports are due Sept. 27.

Service project must be connected to a local 501c3 non-profit in the team’s community, which can include schools and churches. 

The Rotary Club of Hickory has been so appreciative of teams' projects in the past they are going to increase this year's monetary rewards to $300 for the 1st place project, $250 for 2nd, and $200 for third, which teams can have paid to a nonprofit of their choice.

HUNGER WALK - Ashure Ministry (formerly ECCCM) and The Corner Table recently announced that the Hickory Soup Kitchen will be joining the 2024 Catawba County Hunger Walk.

Proceeds from this year's walk will benefit all three organizations. The purpose of the walk is to raise funds for hunger relief efforts in Eastern Catawba County, and to heighten awareness of the hunger issue within our community.

The event still needs sponsors. To sign up as a sponsor, visit cchungerwalk.com and click on sponsorship opportunities.

NC 211 Caregiver Program -

United Way of North Carolina’s NC 211 has partnered with AARP to support caregivers through the Caregiver Outreach Program, offering one-on-one phone calls with a dedicated and trained NC 211 Navigator that provides:

• Supportive listening
• Referrals to resources based on your request and needs
• Follow up calls regarding referrals to discuss any issues or additional needs
• Calls arranged to meet your schedule

For assistance, call 2-1-1 or 1-888-892-1162 and request the Caregiver Outreach Program.

You can also fill out a form at - https://nc211.org/caregiver-outreach-program-r#caregiver - and an NC 211 Navigator will reach out to complete an intake appointment:

Learn about a Grant database -

On Sept. 20, the Catawba County Library System will host an Introduction to Foundation Directory Online, a grant database that gives access to the information needed to be smart and strategic with funding requests.

It will be held at the Catawba County United Way office in Hickory, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Running a nonprofit is challenging on many levels. A great resource the library provides to nonprofits is FDO, a database of every grant issued to every nonprofit since 2003. Attend this hands-on workshop to learn: the three most important types of searches to locate funders whose giving history matches the work you’re doing; shortcuts and timesavers to use when accessing the database; and where to obtain additional free trainings on the grant writing process. Employees and volunteers for area nonprofits are encouraged to bring your own laptop so you can email yourself search results or specific funder profiles.

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.

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