Community invited to make a donation at Giving Machines in Idaho Falls
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IDAHO FALLS – With the blow of a train whistle, the Giving Machines made their entrance at the Grand Teton Mall Monday afternoon. Representatives from local charities arrived on a train to explain how the machines work.
Sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Giving Machines are a vending machine in reverse. Those who make a purchase are donating to one of eight different charities in Idaho Falls or around the world. The local charities include the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center, Eastern Idaho Community Action Partnership, Idaho Falls Rescue Mission, The Village, Idaho Falls Community Food Basket and Friends in Service Here.
The international charities are Right to Play and Care.
A description of what’s inside the Giving Machine is listed on its website. Patrons can choose the item they want to purchase and 100% of the proceeds will go directly towards that item.
The LDS Church has been distributing Giving Machines throughout the world every year since 2017. It’s part of its Light the World initiative, which is an invitation to people of all walks of life to “share the light of Christ with others during the Christmas season through acts of kindness.”
This year is the first time the Giving Machines have been in eastern Idaho. It kicked off the season last month in Pocatello before moving to Hemming Village in Rexburg.
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Alan Avondet, one of the city leads for the Giving Machine, tells EastIdahoNews.com they’ve requested the machines for the last several years and are thrilled to see them making a debut in Idaho Falls.
“Until they came up with the idea of traveling machines, they were not able to provide them. Now that they have traveling machines, they can provide them to smaller cities, like us,” Avondet says.
Avondet says the response to the Giving Machines in Pocatello and Rexburg “knocked it out of the park” and he hopes for a similar response in Idaho Falls. The machines will be at the Grand Teton Mall through January 1.
Their arrival Monday was a celebratory event for the community. A variety of speakers were in attendance, including Glenn Rawson, host of “The Sounds of Sunday” on 100.7 My FM.
He encouraged those in attendance to make a donation through the Giving Machine.
“I urge you — give. You have no idea whose life you can change and the good you can do,” said Rawson.
Kirt Hodges, a representative for the Church, also encouraged those in attendance to participate.
Fifth-graders at Rimrock Elementary were recognized for their efforts in raising $3,000 for the Giving Machines. Several local families also contributed $1,500 through their own fundraising activities.
The event culminated with a performance from Jay Osmond, who recently moved to Idaho Falls with his wife, Karina.
Osmond, a member of the famous Osmond Family who sold 77 million records worldwide, has been part of the effort to bring the Giving Machines to eastern Idaho.
In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, he says he loves helping others feel the Spirit of Christmas.
“The theme behind this (is to) light the world,” Osmond says. “You can do your part, and that’s what really gets you into the Christmas spirit. If you can’t find it in your heart, you’ll never find it under a tree.”
Osmond’s mother, Olive, who passed away in 2004 at age 79, grew up in Malad. His father, George, who died three years later at age 90, was from Star Valley, Wyoming. As a result, Osmond says he’s spent a lot of time in eastern Idaho through the years and they moved to Idaho Falls because they love the people and the culture.
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He and his brothers, Alan, Merrill and Wayne — who passed away earlier this year — recently retired from touring. Jay says he’s looking forward to being a part of the community in various capacities.
After decades of touring around the world, he says he and his wife want to spend the rest of their lives in Idaho Falls.
“We feel this is where we belong,” he says. “We’re excited to get involved in the community and get to know people on a one-to-one basis.”
His hope is that people will get involved by making a donation at the Giving Machine and “catch the real meaning of Christmas.”
“We’ve got two weeks to help people locally and around the globe,” he says. “When you exercise charitable love for people, it ignites that Christmas spirit. There’s no better way to (get in the spirit) and that’s why I love this program.”
‘Join us in making a donation’
Following Monday’s event, a local business decided to participate in a unique way. Brad Hall Companies, the umbrella organization for multiple businesses, including Just 4 Kids Urgent Care, Bingham Ag Services, Synergy Petroleum, Good 2 Go, and others, invited all its employees to make a donation for the Giving Machines at a recent party.
CEO Logan Hall made a donation to the machines on the company’s behalf. He declined to say what the total amount was, but he’s challenging other businesses to make a similar contribution.
“We’d like to kick off the 2026 Giving Machine schedule by inviting some of our peers to join us in making a donation to the Giving Machine and then invite other community members to join them,” Hall says.
Hall specifically invited Idaho National Laboratory, Kiewit and Idaho Steel to get involved in this effort. He hopes it becomes infectious and spreads like wildfire.
When asked what inspired Hall to do this, Hall says “there aren’t many opportunities to include your employees to do something good.”
“I’ve found that money only goes so far. To win your employees’ hearts, you have to help them do good,” Hall says. “Our goal is to do good … in the community and this is a great opportunity to do that.”
Avondet says the LDS Church audits all the Giving Machines, which are displayed at 126 locations worldwide. Once the donation period has surpassed, it will process the donations over the next several months and deliver checks to each of the beneficiaries. He says that will likely take place in April.
“Come and see what’s available in the machines. See what touches your heart and donate,” Avondet says.
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EVENT AND OUR INTERVIEW WITH OSMOND IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.