My Catawba County

Celebrating and Supporting Women

Celebrating and Supporting Women

Women’s Resource Center is a local nonprofit with services available to all women in Catawba and surrounding counties. The Center’s staff and volunteers work to help women attain self-sufficiency through a variety of resources. To learn more, we contacted Women’s Resource Center Executive Director Michelle Morgan.

What is Women’s Resource Center?
Our mission is to support women’s self-sufficiency by providing individualized services and connections to local resources. We are LGBTQ+, BIPOC, AAPI, and Immigrant allied. Simply put, we envision a community where all women thrive.

WRC was established as a 501c3 nonprofit in 1987 to promote the overall well-being of women. Our support groups, programs and services continue to evolve and expand, responding to the diverse needs of our community. Our dedication to improving the overall quality of women's lives remains as strong today as it did back when we began. Our Center is a warm, welcoming place for women who do not know where to turn for guidance in their time of need. We are a safe space to ask questions, have someone listen to your story without judgement, and receive the information and tools needed to strengthen your life.

What programs or services does Women’s Resource Center offer?
Community Resource Coaching
offers practical guidance for women going through major life transitions, such as job loss, separation and divorce, domestic violence, unstable housing or financial difficulties. Women speak with our social worker or one of our trained resource specialist volunteers, who will work with her to identify the problem and develop a step-by-step goal plan. We assist her in finding the community resources and enrichment programs available to help with her specific needs.

Pantry with a Purpose Programassists women and their families in our area struggling to meet their basic needs for reasons outside of their immediate control, such as job loss or fleeing a home quickly to escape domestic violence. WRC’s emergency pantry is stocked with personal hygiene and household cleaning items. These items cannot be purchased through government assistance benefits, such as SNAP or WIC, but are essential to the safety and wellness of those in our community. We provide “Welcome Home” kits to previously unhoused women through this program as well, which includes additional items to make a house home.

We also make free menstrual hygiene items available 24/7 through our No Strings Attached Program to reduce the strain of period poverty in our community.

Our Womenade Program(like lemonade) provides financial assistance through one-time grants of up to $500. Womenade works to help individuals who are otherwise self-sufficient and are experiencing a temporary setback or financial hardship.

Mental Health Counseling Programprovides individualized mental health counseling by a licensed therapist to women who are under-insured or uninsured. We also have an emotional support group that meets weekly and is led by a licensed therapist.

How do people access the services offered by Women’s Resource Center?
Women can call us at (828)-322-6333 to make an appointment to come in and speak with our social worker or to receive resources over the phone immediately if applicable. They can also reach out to us through our website and social media pages. We are on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. WRC is located at 125 3rd Street NE in Hickory (in Sally Fox Park). We are open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm.

Who is eligible for the services offered by Women’s Resource Center?
Anyone who identifies as a woman and resides in Catawba, Alexander, Burke, or Caldwell counties. We are here for ALL women.

What kind of impact are you seeing from the services provided by Women’s Resource Center?
2022 was a record-breaking year for WRC!

  • 2,965 women received resources and referrals either in person, by phone, online, or via email.
  • 5,465 lbs. of personal hygiene items and household cleaning supplies were dispensed to struggling families.
  • 27 previously unhoused families received "Welcome Home" kits to help ease their transition into stable housing.
  • $1,426 in essential menstrual hygiene products were provided through our "No Strings Attached" program.
  • $5,750 in direct financial assistance was distributed to women experiencing a temporary setback through our "Womenade" program.
  • $27,500 in Mental Health Counseling was provided to under/uninsured women in our community for free.

Is there anything you would like to add?
We also offer free enrichment workshops throughout the year and have several other groups that meet at WRC, including AA, ACOA, Rainbow Recovery, an investment club, and two book clubs.

WRC has a small staff of three and ten weekly volunteers (who are trained on our community’s available resources and assist with reception duties). We do not receive state or federal funds. Our funding comes from individual donors, corporate sponsors, grants, and fundraisers. Our biggest fundraiser of the year is coming up on Saturday, April 29th from 11-3 in Sally Fox Park, where our Center is located. We will have over forty artists set up in the park, a silent auction, art activities for the kids, food trucks, and live music.