With Christmas music echoing through City Creek Center’s east plaza and volunteers cutting the ribbon in front of the bright, candy-apple-red vending machines, Utah’s 2025 Light the World Giving Machines officially opened Monday — marking the beginning of a season of giving that organizers say changes thousands of lives each year.
Utah’s first lady Abby Cox attended the grand opening and there were musical numbers from Jenny Oaks Baker and Oba and Yahosh Bonner.
The machines, which run Nov. 24–Jan. 1, allow visitors to purchase items for global and local nonprofits — everything from handwashing stations and laptops to after-school snacks, youth programs, trees, chickens and even a tank of gas for a refugee parent rebuilding life in Utah.
This year, Salt Lake City’s machines include six Utah-based organizations and two global charities as part of a worldwide network spanning 126 cities in 21 countries across six continents.
But behind every swipe of a credit card, organizers say, are real people — newcomers, children, families and volunteers — who feel the impact directly.
‘We’re helping moms enter the workforce’
One organization that will directly see the impact is the Columbus Adult Education Center, serving refugee and immigrant families in Salt Lake County.
“This is our first year in the giving machines,” said Suz Leora, who volunteers with the organization. “And when you’re giving to the Columbus Education Center, you’re giving to help newcomer moms, refugee moms, immigrant moms, or any Utah moms that need help to enter the workforce.”
Leora described a recent moment sitting with a group of Ukrainian women in a six-week program.
“We were talking about how the pioneers must have felt to leave their home and see their temples be burned,” she said. “And then this group of Ukrainian women told me they had gone through similar experience.”
For her, Utah’s participation in the giving machines reflects the state’s long-standing willingness to welcome newcomers.
“Utah has been so kind and loving, and always has been,” she said. “It’s just part of who Utah has always been … a united force to make the world a better place.”
What donations actually fund
The funding is direct and practical, said Sean Marchant, the Columbus Adult Education Center’s president.
“We’re really excited because it’s going to bring more awareness to the community of who we are and what we’re doing,” he said. “We’re also grateful for the funding that will help us with some of the tools and equipment and needs that we have to support the efforts we’re doing.”
Marchant said donations from the machines will support:
- A youth program to offer educational support to refugee children
- A tank of gas to help provide transportation to work or school for a refugee building their life
- Utility assistance that will support critical refugee services
- Technological aids to help refugee students succeed in school
- Building improvements to contribute to the remodeling of a building that serves refugees
Though refugee and immigrant families make up a large portion of their students, Marchant stressed that Columbus is for the entire community.
“We’re not even just here for refugees,” he said. “We are gathering places for the entire community. We provide a lot of other resources and classes that everyone in the community can be a part of.”
Marchant also emphasized that the organization is run entirely by volunteers.
“We have no paid employees,” he said. “Hundreds of volunteers out of our three three locations … and everyone just does it because they want to help people.”
Other organizations involved in this year’s Giving Machines in Salt Lake City include:
- Friends of the Children
- Murray Education Foundation
- Stella Oaks Foundation
- Show Up Utah
- The Other Side Village
- Care USA
- Special Olympics
Kids giving to kids
The opening day crowd included families, grandparents and clusters of children excited to choose donations from the machines.
“I did the youth program,” said young Millie Curtis, while her cousin proudly added, “I did the reading thing because I like to read and I want other kids to be able to read.”
When asked how donating felt, the responses from the children came quickly:
“Happy.”
“Glad.”
“Lucky.”
“Grateful.”
Grandmother Christy Rodgerson, who brought her grandchildren, said giving at the machines has become a family tradition.
“They came last year, and it’s one of the things they remember,” she said. “I love that they have a chance to (serve) in such a fun way.”
A 100% impact
Nearby, Kenzee White from Cache Valley stopped with her family to leave donations representing everything from handwashing stations to microwaves.
“I just felt very grateful that I have these things in my daily life,” she said. “And super happy and grateful that I’m able to help others.”
Her family focused on high-impact items — laptops, trees, chickens, after-school snacks and more.
Her father, Bryant White, said the machines offer something unique.
“It’s 100% impact,” Bryant said. “Every dollar you spend here goes straight to the front lines of where you want your giving dollars to go.”
A global tradition that began in Salt Lake City
When the first Giving Machine appeared in Salt Lake City in 2017, organizers didn’t know whether people would embrace the idea, per Church News. The idea exploded — generating headlines worldwide and inspiring subsequent locations from Australia to the Philippines to Times Square.
This year, the church again covers all operational costs, including credit card fees, ensuring that 100% of every donation goes directly to the chosen nonprofit.
Across the world, more than 500 organizations are participating, offering more than 4,000 different donation items.
For Leora, Marchant and many Utah families, the impact feels personal.
“There’s just so many good people,” Leora said. “And that’s exactly what the Giving Machines are aimed at.”