Kansas City Giving Vending Machines for #LightTheWorld
On a cold, windy day in Kansas City, Missouri, Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson told a group gathered at the Crown Center how grateful she was to be there with them celebrating the opening of the 2022 Giving Machines.
“I know the best part of Kansas City and it is you. … It’s the spirit you bring to your community. It’s your desire to bless the lives of others,” she said on Nov. 16.
President Johnson said that’s the responsibility of the Relief Society as well. Organized in 1842 with 20 women, now the organization has 7 and a half million women around the world.
“Our objective is to provide relief — relief from spiritual troubles and relief from temporal ills as well. Giving Machines give us an opportunity to do that,” President Johnson said.
One of the members of the Relief Society in Kansas City is Tammy Reid, wife of Kansas City Chiefs head football coach Andy Reid. Tammy Reid helped emcee the event with Tavia Hunt, another member of the Chiefs family. They outlined how last year — the first year Giving Machines were in Kansas City — more than $311,000 were donated to local and national organizations.
Hunt said: “It’s heartwarming not just on this cold day but well into the future. Our community responded to light the world in the most amazing way last year. We are so happy [the Giving Machines] are back.”
Giving Machines are expanded and mobile this year, going to 28 locations around the world. The Church takes care of all the administrative costs associated with the machines, so every dollar donated goes directly to the charitable organizations.
