Hickory – Kim Bost offered these ideas on how we can help others in our community in her weekly newsletter. Kim lives in Catawba County and is running for the North Carolina House of Representatives. Kim also does a Local Live COVID-19 Update every night at 8:15pm on Facebook. She covers our area, the state and local resources.

• Be a Health Care Volunteer. If you are retired or former medical professional.

• Donate Blood.

• Sew Masks. Mary Ann Dore has started a mask making movement and is working with Catawba Valley Hospital. Can you sew? She needs your help! See her facebook group under Sew Masks Unifour, and learn more about their work and who they serve. They have donated over 3000 masks to date.

• Hickory Soup Kitchen is serving lunch to over 300 people and counting, 5 days a week. If you have food donations, they can be dropped off at the Soup Kitchen between 7am and 2pm, Monday through Friday, otherwise call Austin at 828-327-4828 and he can meet you at a better time. For monetary donations, you can either mail a check made out to the Hickory Soup Kitchen to PO Box 1431, Hickory, NC 28603, or you can donate through the Paypal link on their website.

• The Underground Table Chefs Daniel Wheeler, Ben Sullivan and Joey Mansueto are providing meals twice a week for people who need help. Each meal will feed 4-6 people, and they ask for a $10-15 donation, if you can. Order meals for pick up on Tuesdays and Saturdays at Northminster Presbyterian church, in Hickory. Call Sunday – Tuesday at 1PM for Tuesday pickup. Call Wednesday – Saturday until 1pm for Saturday pickup. Some delivery is available. They are currently servicing Burke, Catawba, Caldwell and Mecklenburg county. If you want to help, they are need of money, service or food donations. Check out their Facebook page at The Underground Table, or call 828-324-6634. If you need a meal or know someone who does give them call. No one is turned away!

• Exodus needs donations, and are available for hire! Contact Exodus Works Administrator Andreana Warren at 828-324-2390 to schedule any Moving, Landscaping Jobs, or for any Donation Pick-Ups.

Exodus Works are insured job creating enterprises of Exodus Homes, a private non-profit United Way agency that provides faith-based supportive housing for recovering people returning to the community from treatment centers and prison.

Exodus Works is a drug free, supervised labor force that provides employment opportunities for our residents in a variety of enterprises that generate revenue to support our programs.

• Register to vote online. Visit the NCDMV website at https://payments.ncdot.gov/ to register to vote online. There is no charge to register.