For families · updated November 2026

Giving Machines for missionary families

For missionary families: give in your missionary’s honor this Christmas. Giving Machines are Light the World kiosks where you buy a gift for someone in need instead of a snack. Here’s how a visit works, what you can give, where 2026 machines are posted so far and how missionary families can join in.

Quick answer

For missionary families, a Giving Machine is a simple way to give in your missionary’s honor at Christmas. Giving Machines are red, vending-style kiosks that are part of the Church’s Light the World Christmas initiative. Instead of buying a snack, you buy an item for someone in need, like a meal, a coat or school supplies. The Church covers all operating costs, so 100% of what you give goes to the nonprofit you pick (official page). The 2025 machines ran from mid-November into the first week of January (2025 report).

How can missionary families use Giving Machines?

Giving Machines are an easy family tradition that fits the Light the World invitation. A few ideas from GotMyCall:

Give in your missionary’s honor. Pick an item together, take a photo at the kiosk and put it in the weekly email.
Ask about their city. If your missionary serves near one of the 2025 cities, ask whether the machines came back this year.
No kiosk nearby? The Church suggests organizing a Light the World service project where you live (official page). Our Light the World 2026 guide has a 25-day family list.

How a visit works

Find a kiosk. They’re set up in public places like malls and plazas for a few weeks each season.
Browse the items. Each item is offered by a local or global nonprofit, with the price shown.
Pay at the machine. Most kiosks take credit and debit cards and mobile pay. A few countries also take cash (official page).
Your gift is delivered later. Nothing drops out for you to keep. The nonprofit delivers the item to people in need in the months after the season (2025 report).

Sometimes a nonprofit has to swap an item to meet an urgent need. When that happens, the replacement stays in the same category as what you chose (official page).

What you can give

The official page groups gifts as clothing, shelter, health care, education and more (official page). The Light the World site mentions shoes, books and even a chicken (Light the World). In 2025, more than 500 nonprofits offered over 3,200 different items (2025 report). Newsroom expects the 2025 gifts to provide:

3.5 million meals
Vaccinations for 500,000 children
350,000 months of menstrual hygiene care
Clothing for 108,000 children and adults
97,000 books, school supplies and technology resources
40,000 hygiene kits

Two stories from the report: hygiene kits and health classes are helping girls in western Nepal stay in school, and gifted piglets are helping families on the southern tip of Palawan in the Philippines earn a steady income (2025 report).

How the charities are chosen

Participating nonprofits go through a vetting process with strict criteria, and they can’t use more than 10% of their receipts for administration. In each city, hundreds of volunteers serve on planning committees or as on-site hosts (2025 report).

Where they are in 2026

As of November 4, 2026, the Church’s main Giving Machines page doesn’t show a 2026 location list yet (official page). Cities post their own dates as the season starts. These are confirmed on official Church pages so far:

Tokyo, Japan: OOTEMORI, Otemachi Tower (1-5-5 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku). December 1 to 25, 2026, 11:00 AM to 7:30 PM (Church News East Asia).
Osaka, Japan: Grand Front Osaka, North Building (3-1 Ofukacho, Kita-ku). December 5 to 25, 2026. Monday to Saturday 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Sunday 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Osaka is new this year (Church News East Asia).

For US cities with posted 2026 dates, such as the Boise area, Chicagoland, Kansas City and Las Vegas, see the city list in our Light the World 2026 guide. We only add a city once a Church or Giving Machine organizer page posts it.

How it has grown

2017: the first Giving Machine appeared. About US$70 million has been given since then (2025 report).
2025: nearly 1 million people visited kiosks in 126 cities across 21 countries on six continents, and about 4.8 million items were bought (2025 report).
New in 2025: Bangkok, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Rome, Santiago, São Paulo, Tokyo and Vienna (2025 report).

Questions

What are Giving Machines?

Vending-style kiosks, part of the Church’s Light the World initiative, where you buy an item for someone in need, such as food, clothing or school supplies, from a vetted nonprofit.

Does all my donation go to charity?

Yes. The Church covers all operating costs, so 100% of your donation goes to the nonprofit you choose.

How do I pay at a Giving Machine?

Most kiosks take credit and debit cards and mobile pay. A few countries also accept cash.

Where are the Giving Machines in 2026?

Cities post their own dates. Confirmed so far on official Church pages: Tokyo (December 1 to 25) and Osaka (December 5 to 25), plus US cities listed in our Light the World 2026 guide.

When did Giving Machines start?

The first Giving Machine appeared in 2017. About US$70 million has been given since then.

What if there is no Giving Machine near me?

The Church suggests organizing a local Light the World service project instead.

Sources

Reviewed November 4, 2026. Official pages, your call packet and the Missionary Portal are always the final word. GotMyCall is unofficial and not affiliated with or endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.