Light the World Giving Machines are in Bentonville for the first time, offering the community a chance to easily donate to local and international charities this holiday season. 

Set up in the style of a vending machine, the Giving Machines allow people to choose a specific item to donate to any of five Northwest Arkansas nonprofits or two international charities. 

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Bentonville Mayor Stephanie Orman helped unveil the Giving Machines at a ceremony Thursday, Dec. 5. The machines will be downtown on the northwest corner of the Square through Dec. 16. There will be live music and other entertainment next to the machines every night throughout the event.

“In the season of buy, buy, buy, this is a moment and a place where we have the opportunity to give,” Gov. Sanders said. “With the push of a button, that’s what people in Northwest Arkansas can do with a Giving Machine.”

This is also the first time the Giving Machines are in the state of Arkansas. The program was created in 2017 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and this year it will be in 106 cities across 14 countries. In 2023, the effort raised $10 million for charities.

“They are a gift to our community, reflecting the spirit of who we are as Bentonville residents,” Mayor Orman said. “It’s about small meaningful actions that add up to something extraordinary. These machines make it easy, personal and impactful.”

The local nonprofits participating are Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter, Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter, Canopy Northwest Arkansas and Samaritan Community Center.

“There’s such a great need, and we have the ability to create an awareness of (the nonprofits), and it also creates donations to help them,” said Paul Van Slooten, Bentonville stake president of The Church. “Bentonville is such a perfect spot for this because we have such a giving community.”

To make a donation, swipe a credit or debit card at the machine and choose what to purchase. A card that represents the gift is dropped into the bin at the bottom of the machine.

Each machine offers a selection of items for the participating nonprofits, such as a backpack and school supplies, a holiday meal for a local family, or a new mattress. Items in the machines range in price from $5 to $172. 

One hundred percent of donations go to the charity chosen, as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints covers all operational costs for the Light the World Giving Machine initiative. 

Gov. Sanders and Mayor Orman were the first to make a donation using the Giving Machines in Bentonville. Sanders chose a “777” selection, which is the code to purchase one of everything in the machine, amounting to a donation of $1,421. Orman purchased a year’s worth of clothing for a child at the Children’s Shelter.

Niki Michaelsen was one of the first few dozen residents to donate after the machines were opened on Thursday, purchasing 10 healthy meals for the Samaritan Community Center. 

Michaelsen said she had been to a Giving Machine in the past while visiting Charleston, South Carolina.

“It was awesome,” she said. “We wanted to make sure to come out to our local one this year since we have them.”