Light The World
Light The World is a December initiative that suggests a variety of ways individuals can emulate Jesus Christ and serve as He did, such as feeding the hungry, comforting the lonely, visiting the sick and afflicted, and showing kindness to everyone. Jesus taught us to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbors (see Matthew 22:36–40).
The initiative was initially created “to inspire people to make the holidays more meaningful by helping others and spending valuable time with loved ones.”[1]
Light The World was launched in 2016 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and at the end of the year, more than 200,000 acts of service were shared on social media.[2]
For the month of December, specific daily service prompts were provided to help us focus our lives on helping others during the Christmas season.
For the 2017 campaign, the Giving Machines concept was launched. “The machines provided a way for tens of thousands of people to quickly and easily give to charity during the Christmas season using retrofitted vending machines stocked with donation items.[3]
As of November 2023, the Light The World Giving Machines have now raised $22 million from 1.5 million donors in six years, said Karl Cheney, the initiative’s manager in the Missionary Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church covers all costs, so 100 percent of every donation goes to the charitable cause of a donor’s choice.
Church leaders and charitable partners say the Giving Machines provide both short-term needs and long-lasting change.
- The unique machines will offer donors 1,200 different charitable items in 2023, from meals and clothing to livestock and beehives. The donations will go to a dozen global charities like African Girls Hope Foundation and UNICEF or to about 240 local nonprofit organizations.[4]
Light The World Giving Machines will be placed in 61 cities in seven countries for 2023—that's up from 28 locations in 2022. Cheney said, "One of the reasons we can do 61 locations this year is because last year we tested a mobile-machine concept, where we take a Giving Machine and move it from city to city. So rather than a city having the machines for five weeks, last year they had them for five days. . . . You would think that you wouldn’t have much enthusiasm or success with five days, but we found that those cities that had machines for five days did just as well, if not better, than cities that had machines for five weeks. There’s an urgency, you know, and so people want to go and get there."[5]
- We see miracles, and this is not hyperbole, every day. Every single day. . . . None of these people are looking for a handout. Not any of them. They just need to get started, most of them, and it is changing lives in ways that you could never imagine.[[6]
Each machine is tailored to its region. There will be Giving Machines in 43 cities across the United States and 18 cities in Australia, Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, New Zealand, and the Philippines. Donors can choose to give money to a local charity or to a global charity that might provide goats or piglets to a family or school tuition to an orphan.
The Giving Machines have become well known for offering livestock that charities distribute to families to help them feed themselves or start small businesses. Last year, givers purchased 41,000 chickens, 25,000 ducks and 3,800 beehives. “Chickens, goats, piglets and beehives provided through the Giving Machines have benefited 20,000 families in Kenya and Tanzania over three years, said Mary Obiero, director of relief and development protection for Church World Service Africa. Obiero said giving the livestock to women has improved gender equity in the villages where CWSA works.”[7]
Donation locations are available in this article and this article. Donations can also be made online through this Giving Machines link.
The Church obtained the use of 27 screens on New York City's Times Square to launch 2023's giving machines:
