The following is excerpted from the Church News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
Before Area Seventy Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt officially presented nearly $700,000 to six non-profits in Gilbert, Arizona, he spoke about how donations at the Giving Machines were truly “expressions of lovingkindness.”
“I worry sometimes that people may think a donation is nameless or faceless,” he said. “But it’s because of the staff, because of the volunteers of these local charities as these items are given to people, they become the face of love and they become the face of kindness to those who are the most vulnerable among us.”
Some 300,000 people throughout the United States visited a Light the World Giving Machine between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, donating a combined $5.8 million. The campaign has raised $15 million since its inception in 2017.
This year, the money benefited 44 charities in the United States and five global agencies.
Elder Schmitt and other representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held a ceremonial handover with large checks made out to each local charity partner, during the Gilbert City Council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
Around the U.S. similar presentations have been made to local charity partners in the 10 cities that hosted Giving Machines. The Church covered all administrative costs for the machines — including credit card transaction fees — so all donations go directly to the charities.
A reception in New York City on Wednesday, March 9, celebrated donations with the five global organizations: Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, or CARE USA; Church World Service, or CWS Global; the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR; United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF; and WaterAid.
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
