Giving Machines total nearly $6.3 million in donations for charities

10 Jan 2020, 1:49 p.m. MST

An unveiling event was held for the Giving Machines at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, Oahu, Hawaii, Nov. 20, 2019. Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Nearly $6.3 million was generated for charitable organizations with purchases at the Giving Machines during the December 2019 Light the World campaign.

A total of 255,814 items were purchased from 10 Giving Machine locations around the world. According to Boncom, the top five purchased items were:

Three chickens (31,006 transactions)
100 polio vaccines (15,132 transactions)
Take-home meals for a child (12,623 transactions)
One sheep (10,187 transactions)
Box of fresh produce (9,730 transactions)

Giving Machines were located in Gilbert, Arizona; San Jose, California; Denver, Colorado; Laie (Oahu), Hawaii; Las Vegas, Nevada; New York City; Orem and Salt Lake City, Utah; London, England; and Manila, Philippines.

The Giving Machines are launched in San Jose, California, in November 2019. | Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Partner charities for 2019 donations include UNICEF, Church World Service, WaterAid, Water For People and International Medical Corps.

This was the fourth year of the Light the World initiative and the third year of Giving Machines.