Giving Machines open in Utah and Salt Lake counties

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah residents can now give, through vending machines in malls and community centers, to people in need both in the state and around the world.

The first Giving Machine, a highlight of the Light the World initiative run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was located in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in 2017. Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said the program that began in Utah has spread.

“We kicked it off, and now these machines are throughout the world, and others are given the opportunity to kind of lean in to that Utah way,” Wilson said Monday.

She spoke along with church leaders at an event to open the Giving Machines in Salt Lake City. Giving Machines in Orem open during an event on Monday evening.

Related: Domestic violence shelters, hotlines preparing to answer more calls during the holiday season

Wilson thanked the church, City Creek Center and others involved for creating such an amazing program. She encouraged people to focus on others who might need a visit or some support during this time of year — people around them.

Elder Bruce Boucher, an area seventy of the church’s Utah Area, shared multiple donation opportunities that help people in Utah, providing food, shelter, mental health support for children, veterans, foster families and even pets. The organizations receiving donations that will benefit other Utahns include:

• Fight Against Domestic Violence
• Friends of Salt Lake City Children’s Justice Center
• Prevent Child Abuse Utah
• Operation Veteran Support “Honor 365”
• Show Up Utah
• Utah Humane Society

“These tools for giving are easy, and they’re fun. They’re not the only way to ‘light the world’ this Christmas season,” he said, encouraging people to look for other ways to serve as well.

Over 500 organizations around the world have placed items in the machines, located in 106 different cities.

Last year, he said his family went to a Giving Machine intending to purchase about four goats, but they ended up purchasing 18 goats instead. He said he hopes these machines inspire others to give.

Elder Karl Hirst, general authority seventy, is from England and said Monday’s event was the closest he had been to a Giving Machine. This year, England has three machines.

“I can imagine very easily that receivers and givers will both feel that they’re blessed and that their gifts come from above, illuminated by the Father of light,” he said.

When and where are the machines available?

The Red Cliffs Mall in St. George has a Giving Machine that opened on Nov. 18, but it will be closing after Saturday.

The Giving Machine in the amphitheater at the Ogden Christmas Village opens on Dec. 1 and ends on Dec. 15, just in time for the machine on Center Street in Logan to open up on Dec. 16 and remain open until Jan. 1.

Read the full story from KSL.com here.