LOGAN – The Light of The World Giving Machine opening ceremony and ribbon cutting in Logan brought a crowd of people on a cold Monday evening.
A large group of people gathered near the corner of 55 W. Center Street in front of Great Harvest Bread Co. to be a part of giving to community nonprofits and global charities.
The Bear River Ramblers, a country and blues acoustic music group, entertained the crowd with their selections of Christmas carols and other music. Live entertainment began prior to 6 p.m. near the corner of 55 W. Center Street in Logan.
Paster Don Woody of the Emmanuel Baptist Church was invited to offer the invocation.
Craig Dunkley, the master of ceremonies, thanked the crowd for being there and introduced the five local charities with two global charities selected for this year’s recipients of donations. Families with children of all ages were there to be a part of the celebration and were the first to buy a selection of items from the machines.
Dunkley introduced the different charities in the valley that will be recipients of the Giving Machine donations.
“Last year we had 2 million visitors and 17,000 items purchased,” he said. “There are giving machines in 126 cities and in 21 countries.”
He had the representatives of the charities stand and be recognized. This year donations will be given to the Cache Community Food Pantry, Loaves and Fishes Cache Valley, Cache Valley Hope for Cancer Foundation, Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection. The two global nonprofits introduced were United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund or UNICEF and Mentors.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced this year that more than 4,000 items will be available for purchase, offered through over 500 local and global charities.
Giving Machine kiosks at Christmas time provide clothing, shelter, health care, education, and more through a unique giving experience. The organization’s goal is that every donation will make a positive impact on someone’s life.
Jamie Andrus, president and chief executive officer of the Cache Chamber of Commerce, cut the ribbon, and the wrapping paper was pulled from the face of the giving machines. The crowd quickly went to work buying merchandise and services at the kiosks.
Christy Mecham of Hyrum brought her children down and they were some of the first to make use of the opportunity to give to the selected charities.
Cara Dunkley of Millville was a volunteer spending the evening showing people how to work the Giving machines.
Last year the money from the vending machines gave a boost to five area nonprofits in Cache Valley. The checks ranged from $40,000 to $70,000 presented to local non-profit charities.
The Light of The World Giving Machine is an annual event introduced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to invite the world to celebrate and commemorate the birth and life of Jesus Christ during a season of giving.