"Building relationships to support our community with

collaboration, compassion and purpose."

By John Bailey

Catawba County United Way

On Monday, Catawba County United Way Executive Director Mark Bumgarner was notified that the Blue Ridge Piedmont Chapter of the American Red Cross would be setting up an emergency shelter for those who were displaced by a fire that night at Hickory Gardens senior living Apartments.

The shelter was hosted at Christ Lutheran Church in Hickory and housed up to 11 of the 30-plus individuals forced out of their homes because of the fire.

Bumgarner immediately contacted the leaders of the local American Red Cross chapter to let them know the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) was ready to help in any way needed.

Starting Tuesday, Meals for the shelter was the primary request.

The United Way coordinated an evening meal Tuesday from The Hickory Soup Kitchen. On Wednesday, the CCUW coordinated with The Corner Table in Newton to provide lunch and Cranford Brother's BBQ in Hickory for dinner.

The shelter closed Thursday afternoon after temporary housing was established for those displaced by the fire. Publix in Hickory provided a final lunch for those still at the shelter.

The CCUW also received commitments from Bob Lackey’s restaurant group and from Granny’s Kitchen.

“I want to recognize they were willing to step up and help if needed as well,” Bumgarner said.

The United Way also donated more than two dozen new bath towels along with hygiene items for those in the shelter.

The American Red Cross will continue to work out of the CCUW’s office to meet with those displaced by the fire, providing long-term case planning.

“In the end what we have brought to this effort is that ability to connect needs and resources,” Bumgarner said. “Certainly, we don’t want to burden our local restaurants but what we know to be true is if we all participate it’s not a heavy lift for everybody.”

The Catawba County Youth Council is accepting Requests for Funding Proposals (RFPs) targeted to address the impact areas of health and education as they relate to the needs and wellbeing of children and youth in our community.

Applications will open on the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) website Feb. 7.

The Youth Council partners with the CCUW in this annual community investment process. The RFP applications are due to the United Way by midnight on March 7.

RFPs will be considered by the Catawba County Youth Council from organizations who are either incorporated as a not-for-profit, tax-exempt entity or who have a 501-C3 legal status, within Catawba County. They must comply with applicable legal, federal, state and local operating and reporting requirements (e.g. government approved accounting practices, annual audit, 990, nondiscrimination). Agencies will need to provide proof of their non-profit status.

RFPs for consideration by the Youth Council must be programs 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.

Funding requests cannot be for programs currently receiving funds through any other CCUW grant cycle for this specific program. 

Monies available for program funding are raised through the Catawba County United Way’s annual community campaign. All grant amounts are contingent on funding recommended by the Youth Council and approved by the Catawba County United Way Board of Directors.

These funding recommendations are made solely by the Catawba County Youth Council and its panel members.

For questions about applying for this grant, contact John Bailey, CCUW Director of Community Impact at jbailey@ccunitedway.com or call 828-327-6851.

Organizations selected for funding will be notified in writing in June. 

The Catawba County United Way is recruiting a group of volunteers to help sort and organize donations that area YMCA's received to aid local non-profits with emergency relief efforts.

The items are currently collected at the YMCA in Conover (1104 Conover Blvd E, Conover, NC 28613).

Now…this is a lot of stuff…a racquetball court full of clothing, food, baby items, cleaning supplies, hygiene items, water and pet food. 

We'll need Volunteers on Tuesday, Feb. 4 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.  to help prepare the donations for agencies to pick up later next week.

If you are interested in helping for any amount of time, please RSVP at the link below. 

The Catawba County United Way is excited to welcome Chicken Salad Chick in Hickory (972 2nd St NE) to the CCUW’s Small Businesses Love Big (SBLB) initiative. 

This is an opportunity for small companies in Catawba County (50 employees or less) to invest back into their communities by supporting local non-profit programs.

Each participating SBLB company contributes $365 a year, which will be used to fund this new Catawba County United Way allocation process focused on local small and start-up non-profits.

Representatives of the businesses will meet to review the grant applications and decide what programs to fund.

This year’s grant cycle for Small Businesses Love Big opens in August.

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.