NEW YORK CITY — Visions of Black Friday still danced above the heads of the shoppers who thronged Times Square on Cyber Monday as huge video boards flashed images of expensive gifts above them.
But below eye-catching ads for “Wicked,” perfumes and cellphones, three bright-red Giving Machines on the corner of 46th Street and Broadway drew together the leaders of 14 major national and international charities with visions of changing the world for the better on the eve of Giving Tuesday.
“We’re on a journey to create a world without hunger,” said Barron Segar, president and CEO of World Food Program USA.
“Our goal is to empower 1 million women entrepreneurs,” said Elizabeth Welch, CEO of iDE (International Development Enterprises).
“We provide food and medical packages to people who are either fleeing the front lines of war in Ukraine, or for the elderly and the disabled who are actually trapped in isolated villages with no access to food or medical supplies,” said Mary Carriero, board chair of Lifting Hands International.
One leader called the Giving Machines “the world’s greatest vending machine” because they bring donors to those major charitable movements. Another called them a unique platform because stepping up to a machine, swiping a credit card and buying a goat or a chicken or contributing to a well allows people to connect easily with those they didn’t know they could help.
“I am just so proud to be here with the incredible partners that have been brought together by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, both other religious groups and humanitarian, nonsectarian groups,” said Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, said Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York.
‘Don’t give up, give back’
“Motivated by love of God and love of our neighbors, these Giving Machines afford all of us a very unique giving experience,” said President Camille N. Johnson, Relief Society general president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Rather than purchasing a soda or a treat, we have the opportunity to bless those who are most vulnerable, to care for those in need, to address the needs of our neighbors, both those that live right around the corner from us and those that live on the other side of the world.”
The Church sponsors the machines, which are part of its annual Light the World initiative. Monday’s event, held on a morning with temperatures just below freezing, gave New York media an opportunity to do stories about the effort.
The machines, operating through the holiday season in 106 locations on five continents, supercharge giving by connecting givers in one place to those in need somewhere else, either locally or globally.
“You can go up to the Giving Machines and find a cause that speaks to you,” said Jessica Schneider, COO of Giving Tuesday. “The mere existence of them speaks to Giving Tuesday because it’s an open tent for religious organizations, nonprofits, universities, big (non-governmental organizations), neighborhoods and community schools. It’s for everyone.”
Carriero said Lifting Hands International is a smaller charity thrilled to be included in the Giving Machines.
“I want to start by thanking The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” she said. “Giving an organization of our size the ability to access the donor pool through the Giving Machines is truly transformational, and we are very, very grateful for this chance.”
She asked people to consider donating to help Ukrainian refugees “so we can literally enable them to survive.” She and others acknowledged global conflicts and their effect even on people who hear of them.
“We know this can be a discouraging time with the news throughout the world, but we would ask that you look at the light these Giving Machines provide and the wonderful work of all these groups. Don’t get discouraged.
“Please don’t give up, but give back.”
‘Takers eat well, givers sleep well’
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, who has been called by a Church leader “the face of caring in New York City,” told the Deseret News, “It’s heartening for me to see the Church of Jesus Christ at the table here, to see the Church as a vocal partner.”
He said the Giving Machines help raise society’s moral compass. Rabbi Potasnik also shared one of his mother’s sayings.
“My mother used to say that there are two kinds of people in the world, the givers and the takers. She said the takers eat well, but the givers sleep well. We don’t need to eat more. We need to sleep a little bit more. By giving, we can do that.”
Providing dignity to God’s children
The president and CEO of UNICEF USA and the chief marketing officer for CARE, two of the world’s largest charities, also spoke at the event.
A total of 15 global charities joined the Giving Machine initiative this year, part of a total of more than 525 global, national and local charities to participate. Other groups represented at Monday’s event included Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children, the American Red Cross and WaterAid.
The Church has expanded the number of Giving Machines each year since the initiative launched in 2017. Last year, the effort raised $10 million, bringing the seven-year total to $32 million.
Last year, donors provided:
- 125,200 chickens.
- 16,600 goats.
- 662,000 vaccines.
- 2 million meals.
- 180,000 pounds of food.
This year’s selections range in price from $7 to $300. Items include feminine hygiene solutions for girls, polio vaccines, school supplies and more.
Monday’s event was held at Father Duffy Square where the Giving Machines sat about four feet from the statue of George M. Cohan, the father of Broadway musical comedy and the writer of American song standards like “Over There”, “Give My Regards to Broadway” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”
The Giving Machines will move. Beginning on Giving Tuesday and throughout the holiday season, New Yorkers and tourists can find them at 59 Park Avenue in front of the Church of Our Saviour, where Monsignor Sullivan is the administrator.
“I hope that everybody gets many of those wonderful gifts that are around us here in Times Square,” he said at Monday’s event.
“But what I invite you to do is to look at these machines, which will Light the World because we give not the gifts that [are] around us but the gifts that will enable our sisters and brothers to live in dignity.”
