"Building relationships to support our community with

collaboration, compassion and purpose."

By John Bailey

Catawba County United Way

Dependable.

Compassionate.

Encouraging.

A Mentor. An Advocate. A Friend.

These are just a few ways the group of nominees for the 2024 Giving From the Heart (GFH) Volunteer Awards were described at the annual event hosted by the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) on Tuesday.

The luncheon is an opportunity to recognize the selfless work so many across the county do every day for those in need. It is also a chance to recognize this year’s NC Governor’s Volunteer Award recipients from Catawba County.

As further recognition for the GFH volunteers, Piedmont Natural Gas donated $500 to the nonprofit of each category winner’s (individual, group, youth) choice.

This year those winners were:

Individual – Jason Keating, volunteer at Walk with Me Healing Steps.

Group – Dana and Josiah Florez, volunteers at NC Cooperative Extension 4-H.

Youth – Luke Wilkinson, volunteer at The Corner Table.

For Jason Keating, the ‘why’ for being a volunteer is simple, to be able to help the next person. He started at Walk With Me Healing Steps as a client and is now training to get certifications so he can pay the help he received forward.

“I had issues I was working through as a veteran,” Keating said. “Traditional therapy wasn’t working and then I found the farm and after seven months of the (equine) therapy, I thought to myself, ‘alright what do I have to do to give back and help the next person…hopefully help the next veteran not stumble the way I did’.”

The USDA has launched a new, permanent program to provide food assistance to children and families during the summer of 2024.

SUN Bucks will provide grocery-buying benefits to qualifying families with school-aged children during the summer months when schools are on summer break. SUN Bucks is sometimes referred to as Summer EBT.

Have you been helped by a local nonprofit who is also a Catawba County United Way community partner?

We’d like to hear your story.

These will be shared in our weekly newsletter and through our various social media channels.

The stories may also be compiled for press releases shared with local media outlets.

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.