April 2, 2025
BY JOHN BAILEY
The Catawba County United Way (CCUW) recently received the Community Resiliency: Disaster Relief and Recovery Award during the United Way of North Carolina’s Spirit of NC presentations, held in Gastonia.
The CCUW’s recognition was based off the role it played during the recovery efforts in Western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene last year. Acting as a donation and supply coordination site, the CCUW staff and its volunteers helped move approximately 4.6 million pounds of emergency supplies to counties affected by the storm.
The Catawba County United Way also helped secure funding for other agencies in the affected area which included donations from the George Foundation, Corning and Lauren Daigle’s Foundation as proceeds from a benefit concert, hosted by The Art of Compassion at Crawdads/LP Frans Stadium in Hickory.
“It is always nice to be recognized for impactful work. I am proud of the work my team and our agency did to help our friends and neighbors when Helene struck,” CCUW Executive Director Mark Bumgarner said.
“The truth is, we were just being good neighbors. We saw a need for help, and knew we had the means to help. So, we did. It doesn’t really seem award worthy to me, but I’m glad our efforts had such an impact on our peers.”
The CCUW was able to help evenly distribute $104,000 among nine United Ways in the areas affected by Hurricane Helene.
These include: Burke County United Way, High Country United Way, United Way of Asheville and Buncombe, United Way of Caldwell County, United Way of Cleveland County, United Way of Haywood County, United Way of Henderson County, United Way of Rutherford County, United Way of Wilkes County.
“Being a direct county neighbor, I know that I can, have and do count on Mark for not only direct material support, but even more than that, emotional support and guidance,” Burke County United Way Executive Director Maureen Schwind said.
The resources CCUW helped direct to Burke County assisted multiple family flood victims to refurbish home items such as furniture, bedding, clothing and general household supplies. They also helped pay deductibles for homeowners to access insurance funds and paid for debris cleanup and removal. Donations of supplies helped restock food pantries.
“This is who we will always be at Catawba County United Way, the people who always step up the best we can to help others,” Bumgarner said.
Learn more about the CCUW’s mission at ccunitedway.com.