Giving Machines And The Feel Good Factor
Vending Machines.
We see them everywhere. You can pay cash, or by card or even tap your phone on them these days and all it takes is a few prods of the buttons before the machine works out which item you wanted and pushes it off the shelf for you to collect at the bottom.
Instant gratification. If only, giving to charity was that easy.
Well, actually it can be and Tops and I were invited to London to visit the Hyde Park Chapel, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to witness the unveiling of the Giving Machines that have been installed for the Christmas season.
I know about these machines because last year they were installed in Salt Lake City and lots of my favourite people who live out there, posted on Instagram and on Facebook and Tweeted about them. I must admit I was really jealous, they seemed like an amazing way to be able to give but this year, they have been installed in;
The Joseph Smith Memorial Building, Salt Lake City, Utah,
We see them everywhere. You can pay cash, or by card or even tap your phone on them these days and all it takes is a few prods of the buttons before the machine works out which item you wanted and pushes it off the shelf for you to collect at the bottom.
Instant gratification. If only, giving to charity was that easy.
Well, actually it can be and Tops and I were invited to London to visit the Hyde Park Chapel, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to witness the unveiling of the Giving Machines that have been installed for the Christmas season.
I know about these machines because last year they were installed in Salt Lake City and lots of my favourite people who live out there, posted on Instagram and on Facebook and Tweeted about them. I must admit I was really jealous, they seemed like an amazing way to be able to give but this year, they have been installed in;
The Joseph Smith Memorial Building, Salt Lake City, Utah,
The Water Tower Plaza in Gilbert, Arizona,
The Manhattan New York Temple, New York City,
The SM Mega Mall in Manila, Philippines and
The Hyde Park Visitors’ Center in London.
So, what's the deal with these machines and why are they so great?
Well, imagine if you will that you are in London, on Exhibition Road and you want to do something good, something that isn't about you getting a treat, but something that will help others, something that will help light the world with goodness and will make you feel GREAT.
How about buying something that will support charities such as CARE International UK, The Royal British Legion or the Hammersmith & Fulham Foodbank?
All you'd need to do is pop into the Hyde Park Visitors' Center, and either simply decide what you'd like to donate between £1 and £30 (of course, you can spend more by buying multiple items), or decided what you would like to buy. It could be you buy Nappies for families that need them, or you buy a meal for a Veterans family. How about supplies for a School, or a school uniform, or textbooks?
Take a look, at the video when Top Ender and I purchased some milk on behalf of our Facebook Friends to get a better understanding of the process.
VIDEO
Honestly, look at our grins. Look how happy we are!
By the way, one hundred percent of all the donations go directly to partner charities for the purchased item or for items or services of greater need based on their discretion. All the administrative costs for this campaign and costs associated with its nonprofit partners are covered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It even says it on the bottom of the receipts.
Come and see my blog post tomorrow, for more about the Light The World campaign and some ideas about things that you could do this Christmas to get that nice warm feeling of helping others without having to spend money on buying gifts!
Oh, and one last thing, look at how many things had been purchased by the various people at the launch after just a few minutes in just one machine. I call that amazing!
