Oct. 25, 2022
By John Bailey
A record amount of monetary donations helped the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) extend the impact of its annual school supply drive this year.
The CCUW recently presented Catawba County Schools, Hickory Public Schools and Newton-Conover City Schools with a share of the more than $6,000 raised through August and September.
The monetary donations were led by the generous amount of $4,247.51 from Publix through its “Tools for Back to School” campaign.
There were several other large donations from local groups and companies including the Hickory Service League, Newton Conover Rotary Club, ZF Chassis and the Order of the Eastern Star Hickory.
The funds will be used by the school districts to provide the tools families need to help their children succeed in the classroom throughout the school year. The three districts enroll more than 22,000 students in the county.
“The monetary donation allows us the flexibility to serve student/family needs beyond the typical school supplies,” Hickory Public Schools Director of Student Services Angela Simmons said. “For example, we would be able to assist a family purchase an instrument, athletic shoes or other items that a student needs.”
In Newton-Conover City Schools, the donation will help support additional reading and math materials for elementary classrooms, Newton-Conover City Schools Dir. of Community Schools Kirsten Maynard said.
Along with the monetary funds, the CCUW collected more than 8,600 individual items (including pencils, notebooks, backpacks, crayons, paper) that were distributed to the school districts prior to the start of classes at the end of August. Parents can access these supplies by contacting their child's school guidance counselor.
This year’s collection site partners included: West Rock, Peoples Bank, St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Partnership for Children, Century Furniture – Case goods, Paramount Automotive, A Woman’s View, Catawba County Government, Catawba County Library, Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministry, Authentic Church, ZF Chassis Components, Cloninger Ford Hickory, CommScope, Pace at Home, Hickory Community Yoga and Wellness, City of Newton, Catawba County Department of Social Services, Truist Bank, Pepsi, Hickory Chair, Ascension Book Store – Higher Learning Academy, Maiden Chapel Baptist Church, Catawba Valley Healthcare and University Christian High School.
The CCUW thanks everyone who helped with this year’s school supply drive in any way.
To learn more about the Catawba County United Way’s impact or how you can be involved in our next school supply drive, visit ccunitedway.com or call John Bailey at 828-327-6851.
In the photo - From left: Newton-Conover City Schools Dir. of Community Schools Kirsten Maynard, Catawba County Schools Dir. of Student Services Maria Ballard, CCUW Dir. of Finance Shanna Clark and Hickory Public Schools Dir. of Student Services Angela Simmons.