(The following is an example of collaboration I experienced back in November as a staff member at the Catawba County United Way. It’s actually one of many examples that I’ve been part of in 2021, of local non-profits working together to help someone – John Bailey, CCUW.)
So, my grandfather had a saying about rolling a boulder up a hill…
It would seem impossible for an individual…But…if that individual gets a bunch of his or her friends to help…WELL THEN, it becomes a lot more possible.
That’s what happened on Nov. 1 after I got an email from Holly Aldridge with the Children’s Resource Center.
She had a parent, with two small children, who was in desperate need of tires for the family car.
Holly was concerned because the parent drove her 4-year-old to Newton every day for NC Pre-K. The parent worked but with limited resources still struggled and wasn’t able to address this need immediately.
Holly decided to do what she could and reached out to the United Way and asked if we could share this family’s story in hope of finding some help.
I sent her request out to our network of local community partners and less than a half hour later, resources started being shared with Holly.
The first was from the Women’s Resource Center, suggesting the family apply for a Womenade Grant from their agency. It helps with short-term needs for individuals who are otherwise self-sufficient but are experiencing a temporary set-back.
Strong Live Ministries then responded with the suggestion of contacting a local tire company who they knew would usually help with this kind of crisis. Strong Life added they could assist with two of the tires if another agency was willing to pitch in as well.
Another suggestion was to make “a help bucket” and let people pitch in and call some tire places in town and see if they would work with them on the cost. The point was made that 20 people pitching in $20 each would be $400.
Still another suggestion was to reach out to Eastern Catawba County Cooperative Ministry and see if the family qualified for emergency assistance funds through their program.
By Nov. 4, there was some real hope for the family.
After learning about it, they had applied for a Womenade Grant and reached out to ECCCM for help. There were even some individuals who stepped up to provide assistance.
It was amazing to see this kind of response to an immediate need, and it all started with a simple email to a group of local agencies who work every day to keep pushing boulders up hills to help families in need.
To learn about local non-profits and their programs, visit nc211.org.