BOISE — For the first time ever, Idaho is playing host to Light the World Giving Machines.
The bright red machines are different than a typical vending machine — instead of lines of chocolate bars, chips or drinks, Giving Machines feature lines of cards with donations on them.
At a Giving Machine, people can purchase a medical examination, school supplies or a hot meal to those in need. One-hundred percent of each donation goes directly to a local or international charity.
These Giving Machines, sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, benefit five local and two international charities: the Idaho Youth Ranch, Glocal Community Partners — a refugee service organization — Women’s and Children’s Alliance, Genesis Community Health, Boise Rescue Mission, Church World Service and WaterAid.
“I need the interruption of the giving machine in my holiday season to remind me that not everybody is having the same Christmas that I have,” Boise City Council President Colin Nash said at the ribbon cutting ceremony, held Nov. 22 at the Grove Plaza in Boise. “At the city of Boise, we have folks who are in very desperate circumstances. These are medically fragile seniors, some of them veterans. They have names. We know who they are. We count them, we know them, and we need places for them to be and without the support that you (local charities) are providing, we can’t deliver those services.”