Donations to the Giving Machines exceeded $5.8 million during the 2021 Christmas season as part of the Light the World campaign. An estimated 300,000 people visited Giving Machines in 10 U.S. cities. The donations will change the lives of people in need not only around the world, but also in the very communities and cities where those Giving Machines were based.
While livestock like chickens, goats and beehives were popular, most people selected meals for individuals and families.
- More than 1.7 million meals and 14,000 boxes of fresh produce will feed the hungry.
- Nearly 20,000 children will receive essential clothing.
- More than 837,000 children will receive a polio vaccine.
- More than 80,000 chickens will provide families with long-term nutrition and income potential.
Since 2017, Light the World Giving Machines have raised $15 million, according to a release on Newsroom.
A loving and unselfish gift
“Each person who participated with the Giving Machines has given a loving and unselfish gift,” said Sister Sharon Eubank, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency and president of Latter-day Saint Charities, in the Newsroom release. “We may not always meet the people we help, but we will be forever connected. I express sincere gratitude to all who helped make it happen. It’s such a Christ-like gesture to feed, clothe, educate and shelter brothers and sisters. In this simple way we express our love to the Savior and our love to others by following His example of caring.”
One hundred percent of all donations went directly to each participating local and global charitable organization. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints covered all expenses associated with the initiative, including credit card transaction fees.
When Giving Machines opened in November 2021 in 10 U.S. cities, local officials and Church leaders in those locations encouraged people to use the annual effort to buy items for people in need through participating charities. This year, Giving Machines were located in Las Vegas, Nevada; Nashville, Tennessee; Honolulu, Hawaii; Denver, Colorado; Orem and Salt Lake City, Utah; Oakland, California; Gilbert, Arizona; Kansas City, Missouri; and New York City, New York.
As of Dec. 21, 2021, donations had reached $3.7 million from 265,000 people.
The 2019 Christmas season resulted in a total of $6.3 million, as reported on Jan. 10, 2020. The Giving Machines were not operating in December 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Generous donations
Joyce Haldeman, the project director for the Las Vegas Giving Machines, said even in the midst of an ongoing pandemic and economic uncertainty, the community stepped up.
“So many people made donations both large and small to make sure people have food and clothing,” she told the Church News. One attorney brought his whole staff and had each employee select $100 worth of donations each. Workers from another office voted on which items they should purchase with the $3,500 they otherwise would have spent on an office party.
She also found out about a mother who came to the Giving Machine with her two young daughters, who were very interested in seeing the options to donate. “We learned they had sold their playhouse to earn money so they could buy something at the Giving Machine for someone else.”
Denver, Colorado, news media reported on the successful campaign in that city. The Denver Post reported that Denver had the highest average donation, and saw an estimated 14,000 people visit the machines at Writer Square, from Nov. 22, 2021, through Jan. 2, 2022.
“Everyone here knows how giving the Denver community can be and that was clear once again during this giving season,” Elder Frederick K. Balli, an Area Seventy, said in the article. “We are looking forward to the impact all these donations will have in our community over the next year.”
Something magical
In Nashville, the Giving Machines coordinators held an evening of wheelchair basketball with their charity partner, ABLEyouth. The organization helps children and youth with physical disabilities develop through adaptive sports. Giving Machines project director Carla Parker said the evening’s purpose was to bring awareness to ABLEyouth, so when people came to donate at the machines they would know more about them.
Parker sat in a wheelchair to play basketball with the other youth, and she learned how challenging it was to dribble, shoot and move a wheelchair at the same time.
“The kids were so good to us,” said Parker. “Everyone that came to the Giving Machines that night felt something magical.”
A site coordinator for the Las Vegas Giving Machines, Christela Mayorga, said working at machines changed the way she looked at Christmas.
“It was more spiritual and it gave me greater faith in the world with all those people who came and felt the spirit of Christ. You could see it in their eyes,” she said.
Las Vegas site coordinator Sue Gurlides added: “We had many faith-promoting experiences as we witnessed people of all ages come to make donations for those in need. It was truly heartwarming to see the spirit of Christ in effect as so many gave of what they had been blessed with to those in need.”
Preparations are now being made for the 2022 Light the World initiative and Giving Machines. Locations and dates are expected to be announced later in the year.
