The first Giving Machine for the 2021 Christmas season has launched and Dan Reynolds, frontman of the rock band Imagine Dragons, made the first donation at the kickoff event in Las Vegas.
“This is for our kids. This is to show them what life is about,” Reynolds said at the event. “It’s to teach them a quick lesson that it’s not about TikTok. It’s not about likes on Instagram. Your self-love, your self-worth, your joy in life will come from giving to others.”
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The Giving Machines are a special vending machine sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of the Church’s annual Light the World Christmas initiative. Instead of dispensing consumer goods, the machines offer charitable items, such as clothing, hygiene kits, school supplies, and even livestock. The boxes representing the items drop to the bottom where they are collected and donated. There will be 10 Giving Machines throughout the United States in 2021:
- Las Vegas, Nevada – Downtown Summerlin Mall (November 3)
- Nashville, Tennessee – Bridgestone Arena (November 18)
- Honolulu, Hawaii – Pearlridge Center (November 20)
- Orem, Utah – University Place (November 23)
- Salt Lake City, Utah – City Creek Center (November 24)
- Oakland, California – Temple Hill (November 27)
- Gilbert, Arizona – Water Tower Plaza (November 29)
- Denver, Colorado – Writer Square (November 30)
- Kansas City, Missouri – Crown Center (November 30)
- New York, New York – Manhattan New York Temple (November 30)
Each Giving Machine offers items for local charities as well as the Church’s global charity partners, which include CARE, Church World Service, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNICEF and WaterAid.
You can learn more about the Light the World initiative by visiting LightTheWorld.org. More details will be launched on the website on November 18, 2021.
