| ChurchBeat | | Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 |
Apostles Celebrate Surging Expansion of Giving Machines Initiative The eruption of growth in one corner of Latter-day Saint efforts to care for the needy may not fully be on your radar, so let’s pause and take a look at some numbers surrounding the #LightTheWorld initiative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2021: 10 cities with the big, red vending Giving Machines 2022: 28 cities 2023: 61 cities in seven countries 2024: 107 cities in 13 countries The machines allow donors to walk up and purchase a beehive to help a family start a business far away in Africa or meals or clothing or glasses for a child in the donor’s own city. And 100% of the donation goes to helping, since overhead costs are paid for by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are invested in #LightTheWorld and the expansion of the Giving Machines initiative, Elder Gary E. Stevenson told me during an interview for the Deseret News at the Giving Machines launch event last week. “When we think about the mission of the church, when we think about celebrating the birth of the Savior, we really couldn’t find anything that would be more focused, more filled with positive outcomes, more what one would think the Savior would like to see as a celebration of his birth and ministry than what the Giving Machine does,” he said. Another marker of growth is the number of charitable partners involved in the Giving Machines. This year, more than 525 nonprofit organizations are collaborating with the church. About 15 are global charities. The rest are local charities in the areas involved in the communities with the machines this holiday season. That number — 525-plus nonprofits — is a significant increase. It is more than were involved in the Giving Machines during the initiative’s first seven years combined, said Karl Cheney, the initiative’s manager. Elder Stevenson celebrated the progress. “When we started this with a few machines,” he said, “I don’t think anyone at that point in time thought that eight years later, we’d be announcing 106 machines with remarkable partners that help us put the commodities — the gifts that are chosen — into the places where they need to be with thousands and thousands and thousands of people, ordinary people doing something extraordinary with the push of a button at a Giving Machine location.” During the 2023 holiday season, the machines raised $10.4 million in 600,000 donations. The previous six years with far fewer machines had generated 900,000 donations combined. Another member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, joined a Giving Machines launch event Friday in Hong Kong. “It is wonderful to be working closely with a number of important charities in Hong Kong in this effort,” he said. “The opportunity to collaborate in lighting the world with these wonderful organizations allows us to more effectively provide meals, clean water, school supplies, toys and clothing to those truly in need. “During this special season, may each of us follow our Savior Jesus Christ — the light of the world — by showing love, kindness, gratitude, and peace to all who we encounter.” Here’s one final number: Last year, the machines in 61 cities offered 1,200 different types of items to purchase for donation. This year, the number mushroomed to 2,800, Cheney said. And again, that is more than the number of items included in machines in the first seven years combined. |
FROM OUR SPONSOR UTAH SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL SAVE ON GREAT THEATRE WITH USF CYBER MONDAY SALE Save big on live theatre with Utah Shakespeare Festival’s Cyber Monday sale on December 2. Get $10 off each ticket to the 2025 season. Best seats at a discount make incredible holiday gifts. 2025’s season includes Macbeth, Steel Magnolias, The Importance of Being Earnest, and more. Visit bard.org/cyber |
About the Church President Russell M. Nelson and his counselors in the First Presidency welcomed Bulgaria’s ambassador to the United States on a visit to church headquarters. ICYMI, President Jeffrey R. Holland said last week in the Dominican Republic that he was “virtually pronounced dead” while hospitalized for four weeks in the late summer and early fall of 2023. “I want the young people to know there are still miracles in this Church,” President Holland said. “The miracle that I represent with the restoration of my life is as real as any miracle in the Old Testament or the New Testament or the Doctrine and Covenants or the Book of Mormon. Miracles still exist.” Elder Dale G. Renlund invited BYU-Hawaii students to “willingly and wholeheartedly” take on the name of Jesus Christ. During a young single adult devotional, President Camille N. Johnson and other leaders emphasized President Nelson’s teachings. In a Church News video released last week, Elder Uchtdorf told the women of the church “We need you, and you belong.” About 2,500 people read a page of the Book of Mormon at the 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany last month. The Church of Jesus Christ sponsored a booth that invited attendees to participate in a “Book of Mormon Experiment” and to discover their heritage through FamilySearch. |
Elder Gary E. Stevenson talks to KSL-TV at the Giving Machines launch event at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Nov. 13, 2024. (Tad Walch, Deseret News) |
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles looks at offered donation selections at the Hong Kong Giving Machines on Nov. 15, 2024, at the New Town Plaza in Shatin, Hong Kong. (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) |
Copyright © 2024 Deseret News Publishing Company, All rights reserved. |
