"Building relationships to support our community with

collaboration, compassion and purpose."

By John Bailey

Catawba County United Way

When is a pencil box more than a pencil box?

When you don’t have a pencil box.

According to 2025 data from the NC Department of Public Instruction, all three public school districts in Catawba County have more than 50% of their students classified as economically disadvantaged. https://www.dpi.nc.gov/data-reports/economically-disadvantaged

Which means the start of a new school year adds greater stress to many local families already struggling financially.

Because of this, the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) hosts its annual School Supply Drive to help teachers and families meet the needs of local students.

“It’s hard when you only have $1,200 a month and rent is $750 a month and basically you have to make ends meet the best way you can,” Donna said when she stopped by the Catawba County United Way office to pick up school supplies for her sister’s children. “They do pretty good until school starts and then they struggle getting clothes, which have gotten outrageous, so she just needed a little bit of help.”

This year, with 40 collection sites, the CCUW received nearly 11,000 individual donations. The bulk of these items were distributed directly to all three public school systems – Catawba County, Hickory City and Newton-Conover City. A family can access supplies by reaching out directly to their child’s school.

In the photo: Conover School teachers at the NCCS Back to School Bash.

Hundreds of local families living at or near the poverty line face the crisis of how to keep food on their tables every day. Catawba County is fortunate to have several nonprofits who are focused on helping struggling families make ends meet.

To help support these efforts, the Catawba County United Way is hosting its annual Community Food Drive during the Hickory Motor Speedway’s Championship night on Sept. 13.

Our goal is to collect at least 2,000 items of non-perishable food.

The drive will benefit Ashure Ministry, the Hickory Soup Kitchen, The Salvation Army of Greater Hickory and The Corner Table in Newton.

Thanks to United Way’s sponsors, this is a free night of racing, so on your way into the track, drop off non-perishable food (can and box items only, no glass products) at the United Way tables.



You can also make a monetary donation (make sure you note it's for the food drive) at - THIS LINK.

In 2024, Ashure Ministry distributed 3.2 million pounds of food through its food pantry. The Corner Table Community Kitchen served 61,825 lunch meals, and the Hickory Soup Kitchen served 85,693 plates of food. In the month of July, The Salvation Army of Greater Hickory served 57 households with a total of 156 members just in Catawba County.

Questions? Call the Catawba County United Way at 828-327-6851.

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 non-profit 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.