ST. LOUIS — Holiday shoppers can buy a hot meal, a shower and a warm night’s sleep for people in need with the push of a button at West County Center. On the second floor near Macy’s, shoppers will find vending machines, called Giving Machines, that benefit local nonprofits.
The Giving Machines opened Dec. 6 and will stay until Dec. 18. Items range from $5 to $250, and a full 100% of the proceeds donated will go to the charities through the Light The World program, sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Visitors can use the machines to shop for items that will be donated to any of five local charities:
Saint Louis Crisis Nursery
St. Louis Area Foodbank
St. Patrick Center
International Institute of St. Louis
Kathy J. Weinman Women’s Shelter
“The giving machines light up so many lives,” said Alesia Roccia, Director of Philanthropy for the St. Louis Area Foodbank. “It gives everyone an opportunity for the dignity to provide for their family... We will use the products that are generated here to feed the people in Metropolitan St. Louis and beyond. We will work to steward everyone towards a hunger free holiday.”
This is the second year for the Giving Machines in St. Louis. Last year, shoppers donated more than $200,000. Since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints began sponsoring them in 2017, more than $22 million has been donated to charities around the world.
“St. Louis is one of the most generous cities in all the world,” the Church’s Area Seventy Elder Jeremiah Morgan said in an unwrapping ceremony Friday. “I’ve seen it. I’ve been a part of it…This year, 107 Giving Machines are all over the world. And here in St. Louis you can beat all of them.”
For those who can’t visit in person, donations can be made at churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/light-the-world/giving-machines. More information is available at www.lighttheworld.org or on social media @stlgivingmachines.