Forget Funyuns and Diet Coke—these bright red vending machines vend kindness and hope. What if you could change someone's life across the world by buying a goat, a beehive, or a backpack — from a vending machine? In this episode of The Ripple Effect, Jenna Kim Jones explores the Light the World Giving Machines—vending machines that do all of that and more. Karl Cheney explains how these small-but-mighty machines now appear in 126 cities across 21 countries, and volunteers Steve and Fran Lowder, share the remarkable stories behind them.
These aren’t vending machines—they’re ripple machines.
Find out more and make your own Ripple at GivingMachines.org.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, I'm Jenakim Jones. Welcome to The Ripple Effect, the
podcast that proves one small act can change everything. You know,
like when someone lets you merge in traffic and you
calm down and don't get all road rageye on them,
and you're feeling all good about that, you're basically a saint.
I'm pretty sure that's how that works. Saintliness on a
(00:26):
morning commute can really set you up for a nice day.
I really think it can. You know how people always
say that when you give a gift, it's really you
the giver that gets the most. Well, I gotta be honest,
that phrase never really did it for me growing up.
After you hear from our guests today, we're all gonna
understand that phrase a little bit more, because I know
(00:47):
I did. Today's episode is about vending machines, but not
just any ordinary vending machines. They're giving machines. What started
as a small idea in one community went on to
red joy in one hundred and twenty six cities across
twenty one countries worldwide. Even the Super Bowl champion Kansas
City Chiefs with coach Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and Travis
(01:10):
Kelce are helping spread the word.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Hey, Kansas City, there's another big Red making plays this year,
the Big Red Given Machines at Union Station.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Case, let's huddle up and make a difference this holiday season.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Together, we can light the.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
World the world.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
But what are the giving machines? These are vending machines
where you don't get anything. There's no candy bars, there's
no diet cokes. All right, cheer up, cheer up. I
know that can be a hard thing. There's not even
you know that, like one sad bag of funions. You
can't even have that. But you can buy a goat,
a chicken, a blanket, a meal for someone in need.
(01:54):
I feel like all of our heads are exploding. It's
so cool. I speak from experience because I have used
the giving machines. Last year, my family and I we
bought a chicken. We also bought a goat mm hmm,
and my kids were like, hold on, what what are
we doing? And I had to kind of walk them
through and then who it clicked The light bulb turned on.
(02:16):
They were so into it. We talk a lot more
about it in the interview, but let's just say it
was very, very fun. Our first guest today is Carl Cheney,
and he manages the operation one hundred and twenty six cities,
twenty one countries and yes, even a giving machine at
the North Hole. I mean, that's just got to be
(02:37):
a shortcut to being on the nice list for Christmas? Right,
can't hurt to hedge your bets this time of year.
And there is one place where there are no giving machines.
Can you guess where Carl's gonna let us know. You'll
also hear from Stephen and Fran Lauder, who helped make
these giving machines happen on the ground. They're the local
area managers who keep things running. They literally watch people
(02:59):
change their lives and other people's lives, because when you
give through these machines, it's really not just about donating
a chicken or a hygiene kit. It's about so much
more than just that item. So please get your tissues
ready because this one is gonna hit you right in
the fields. So let's meet them, Carl, Steve, Fran and
(03:20):
the Giving Machines. Carl, it's so nice to meet you.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Likewise, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Thank you so much for being here. You look great.
I like the suit I feel under dressed. I think
I should have glammed up a little better. All right, No,
you look great, Thank you. I'm so excited to talk
about the giving machines. What a great idea.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
You know.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I am no stranger to a vending machine. I know
my way around, you know, I know how to really
you know, back in the day when the vending machines
were kind of old school and we had to use
cash in them. Remember those days, And you'd have the
crumpled dollar and you'd like use the vending machine to
iron it out. You can't have a wrinkled dollar, won't
accept it, and that's not trouble. No, those are good days.
(04:04):
Those are good days. But these vending machines are different.
So I have to know whose idea was it to
completely flip the script on the vending machine and say, hey,
how about instead of getting something, we give something. Where
did this come from?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Well? I was not around when it first began. I
came in a couple of years into the program. But
in twenty sixteen, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
day Saints launched a Christmas initiative called Light the World,
and the purpose for Light the World was to encourage
the public to go and do something nice for somebody.
(04:44):
Whether it's a play of cookies to your neighbor next door,
whether it's writing a letter, whatever it might be, just
do something kind. Yeah, And so I think in that
first year there was like an oddvent calendar whe you'd
open up, you know, on each day.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Yeah, my kids love those.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And you could say, okay, today I'm going to I'm
gonna say hello to somebody I don't know. And in
early twenty seventeen, as I understand it, a few church
leaders came and said, all right, we've done this. Is
there something that we can do to encourage this even
easier and help people serve one another a little bit easier.
(05:27):
So there was a brainstorm session, and as brainstorm sessions go,
everything goes on the board and someone threw out the idea,
wouldn't it be cool if we could have people donate
items out of a vending machine.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
I can imagine the pitch meeting, right. They're like, no, no,
it's a vending machine where no one's going to get anything.
And they're like, wait, so no snickers, Like no, no, no,
You're just going to do a good thing for someone else.
So like not, there's not one skittle to be found,
Like no, no, You're just gonna do something nice, feel good,
right right, donations out of a vending machine. What an idea,
(06:06):
Steve Frinn. It's so nice to meet you too. Thank
you for being with.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Us, Thanks for having us. What a privilege, Steve.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I'm going to start with you. Okay. We spoke with
your friend Carl Cheney and he told us that he's
been working with the Giving Machine since twenty nineteen. But
from what I've been told, you've been working with giving
machines even longer, which is amazing. Tell us how you
got started and what brought you to these giving machines.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
We started in twenty and eighteen and twenty seventeen is
when we heard about them, and then we just had
a wonderful time with the Light the World initiative before
the Giving Machines were introduced, and so when the Giving
Machines were introduced in the assignment was made through two groups.
The Communication Group of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter day Saints or what your audience might recognize as
(06:59):
the More Church, and through our mission to be a
part of the Giving Machines now we didn't know what
they were vending machines for the church.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Okay, that's right, vending machines. What are we doing here
to our church?
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Anyway, we got the training and then we realized, well,
the Lord can work in mysterious ways, and so we're
going to give it a chance.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
So in every city there is a city lead or leaders.
Sometimes it's a couple of individuals, a husband wife for
two individuals, and then they call or ask seek out
people to come and work with them. We've outlined, you know,
a suggested team. So there should be somebody there who
(07:47):
can handle all of the volunteer assignments. Someone who's got
some strong media relations or government relations, someone who can
work with local nonprofits in the area, someone who can
help with a ribbon cutting event, and all of those
kinds of things.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
We were a part of the first five Cities. Oh wow,
that took it on, and our little city of Gilbert,
Arizona was matched up against New York, London, all the
big cities of the world.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Right, Yeah, that's not intimidating at all at all. Okay,
very cool.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
All of the pieces were in place to make that successful,
and to me, that's just a testimony. It's it's a
reassurance of God's plan. He knows and he starts things
well in advance, so he can take silly vending machines
and turn them into these things that just give joy everywhere.
(08:46):
And when we think about that, that's the blessings. We
want to provide as many blessings as we can for
our brothers and sisters throughout all of the world.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
We call them the little Mighty Red machines because they're mighty.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
They're mighty, the little mighty red machine that is so cute.
We have to remember that. Okay, wow, And you guys
volunteer to do this. This is all volunteer, are we
do We do absolutely yes.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Our first was an assignment because we didn't know about
them too much, so we took that assignment. But we
would volunteer over and over again to do this. And
all of our cities have volunteers. Every city has city
leads who are volunteers, and they're from different walks in
the community, from different faith in the community, and they
all contribute to make sure the giving machines are the
(09:39):
best experience that people can have.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
It's a ton and I know it's time and it's
a time of year when people are really busy. Fran
What do you think brings these people together? Why are
people excited to volunteer for these giving machines to help out.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
I think at the start it was so new and
so different because some of the items in the machines
were a cow, a goat, chickens. You get on social
media say I bought a cow in a bending machine,
you know. So, I think the newness and the excitement
(10:18):
of these machines really took it to a place, and
then people started realizing the meat was these incredible charities,
the local charities, the global charities that are in the
trenches every day that clothe and feed and educate and
(10:39):
help and protect our brothers and sisters. That's when people
started going, this is an incredible initiative. This is something
that no matter my walk of life, I can help
my brothers and sisters. We predder elves in trying to
(11:01):
educate more and more people about what these charities do,
what these charities are all about. Steve loves to ask
a charity lead or director, why do you do this?
It's definitely not for the pay, It's definitely not for
the hours. Why do you do this? And so Steve
(11:24):
and I then started asking people, well, why do you
come to the machines? What's your why? And the why
is the heartstrings and that's what ties us to those
charitable efforts that these machines are allowing us to do.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Carl what happened next with these mighty red machines.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
After a few workings of the idea, they tested it
in New York City before the Christmas holidays. Oh, it
was kind of a stunt in a way, would be
people purchase a jump rope, a literal jump rope, knowing
that it's going for someone else, and come to find
out people actually really liked it. And so in twenty
(12:12):
seventeen we set up three, maybe four machines here in
Salt Lake City again just to see would anybody do this?
And in the process of setting those machines up, there
was a line of people, Oh my gosh, waiting to participate.
And at that time they looked at each other and said,
(12:34):
I think we're onto something here. I often think it
would be really hysterical to try and see a little goat,
you know, going around the coils of a vending machine
or a chicken or something. Yeah, can you imagine, But
you know, using that as an example that that's what
(12:54):
was drawing people. How many people have ever bought a
chicken from a vending machine up until you know, or
how many people had bought a well or I know,
or had bought meals for the homeless, or given shelter
to a battered woman and her family, whatever it might be.
(13:15):
Those are just not typical things. There's no skittles.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
That's what's cool about it is because it's one you're
doing a good thing, but you're kind of opening your mind.
Like when you see the machine, you see the different offerings,
you go, oh my gosh, I didn't even know I
could that was a need or that's a need I
could do something about. Right, Yeah, it's cool, Steve. You
mentioned that this is something that would bless everyone. A
(13:39):
lot of people might not use the word blessing or
bless often. Maybe they do, maybe they don't, But where
does that come from? What do you mean by that?
Speaker 4 (13:47):
Well, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter day Saints, we take the first and second commandment
very much to heart, and that second being lovely neighbor,
as God loves them. And as God loves you. And
we're not the only ones, of course that do that.
And that's where he raises up nonprofits from other faiths,
(14:11):
many of those other Christian faiths, and he does his
work across the globe through those nonprofits. But we also
try to participate in that wholeheartedly with all of our hearts.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Right, that's a really cool perspective that I had not
even really considered that all these I mean, we are
the ripple effect, So I might use the word ripple here.
All these decisions that had been made for years and
years to help, to serve, to try to find ways
to bring people together, and all of that led up
to these giving machines even being possible.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
That's correct. And then you go serve and you bring
some of your friends with you, and the feeling at
the end of those service hours is always the most
joyful feeling. We know with our kids, if we have
them in a depressed spot, we take them out to
just serve projects. Yeah, and that shares them up. At
the end of it, they're a different person.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Because it's true. I think the best way to forget
about some of your troubles is to look outward, you know,
stop obsessing over your own stuff and start thinking about
other people. So I love that. I love that it's
brought other faiths together too, to go, Hey, we have
so much more in common than not, so let's work together. Yeah,
(15:26):
that's really cool. And as you know, the mighty Red
machines are making a big impact. Here's an example of
how the.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
Light the World Giving machines have made a very real,
tangible impact for our families at House of Refuge. Because
of the generosity poured through those machines, we've been able
to provide essentials like groceries, hygiene supplies, betting, and household
needs that immediately reduce the stress for parents and help
stabilize families more quickly. Those gifts directly translate into hope, dignity,
(15:55):
and breathing room, allowing our families to focus on employment, healing,
and building a new future.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
We've seen the communities that have just embraced these as
their own and they're always asking are we getting the
Light the World Giving machines again, because it's become now
part of the community and that's what we love to see.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Well, what a great thing to make service a tradition. Yes,
just make it part of who you are and instead
of a once in a while random oh today I
might do something nice, No, just to plan on it.
This is what we do. This is who we are.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
Our next step with the machines as we got to twelve,
when we look at the history and we're working towards
you know, Okay, how do we get to twenty cities?
How do we get to then one hundred cities? And
what came to both of our heads and right away
spilled out into that conversation, was well, we move the
machines around. We don't just leave them in one place, right,
(16:53):
We take the machines and we move them from one
city to another in that six week time period. And
we're in charge of running test a pilot to see
how that would work. And it worked very very well.
There's a lot of fun stories around that, and that's
why you see now all of these mobile giving machines
throughout the different cities, and that's allowed us to go
(17:15):
to one hundred and something cities.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Now, wow, one hundred and that's crazy. Slap on a
couple of wheels. Let's go. Let's take these things going.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
I like it to come on the back of a truck.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
And run Themck, come on, this can't be that hard,
these giant, heavy vending machines. That's right, that's right, Carl.
We were coming right out of the pandemic around this time.
So what effect did that have on the program?
Speaker 2 (17:40):
We wondered in twenty twenty one if it was even
going to come back. You know, everybody was coming out
of COVID, nobody knew anything, and I'd said, look, I
think we've got something here. Let's just give it one
more shot. So I was given permission to do ten
cities in twenty twenty one, and they all had to
be in the United.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
States, shipping worldwide, no shipping or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
And it was that year when it really the rest
of the world started seeing what was going on. So
we went from ten machines one year the next year
to twenty seven machines the next year, sixty one cities.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I have had experience with the giving machines. They came
to right next door to where I live in Georgia,
and I took my kids, and I think what I
appreciated so much was it did bring me a little
bit closer to someone that I don't know. You know,
we bought a chicken. We named the chicken Chicky Chicky
(18:39):
boom boom. It was very exciting. Okay, my kids were
so excited. They were giving the chicken a backstory. It
was a whole thing. But it was so much fun
because I went I would have never had the opportunity
to do that in my everyday life. And it did
make me think, why is this import and who are
(19:00):
these people? And I was just that one step closer
to someone else and thinking about somebody else, And it
was a really great experience for my kids to talk
about that too, you know, why would we donate this
and what is it for? And how could that help
somebody who has a completely different life than I do. Anyway,
(19:21):
I just loved it. So I completely love the idea
that we're bringing everybody closer to what these charities are
and making us go, wow, the world is big. There's
people everywhere that need help, and I can do that
with just a couple of clicks. You know.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
I love the way that you took the time to
ponder what do we select and even the time to
name it chicky Chicky boom boom. That is just the
best thing ever. And where is chicky chicki boom boom
today you don't know. You hope it went to the
right people to make it a big difference, right, And
I believe it did. I believe chick chicken boom who
(20:00):
was out there somewhere having more chickens And now you've
got a whole village that's probably the business that's probably
taken care of because their chicken chicken boom boom. And
to think about that is a wonderful thing. So we
do ask that first question that friend talked about, why
why are you choosing that? What does that mean? And
we hope that it's an inspirational choice, just like yours.
(20:22):
And we hope that people do think about the recipients,
even going to the point of praying for them. Yeah,
that they that those recipients will receive that and that
it will bless their lives in so many ways. And
some of our charities are local, so you might run
into those people at the grocery store and never know
(20:43):
that they were affected by something that you did. But
their story after story after story from nonprofit leaders about
how people were affected local as well as globally.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Wow, locally and globally. Yeah, So Carl you've really got.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Machines all over the world worldwide. Last year we were
at one hundred and seven cities. This year we'll be
at one hundred and twenty six cities whoa on six
continents in twenty one countries, and so in a very
short amount of time, this has exploded. The Church of
(21:19):
Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints sponsors this. They pay
for all of the equipment, they pay for all of
the local marketing. One percent of the operational costs are
paid for by the church, but the church receives no
financial benefit or gain. One hundred percent of every donation
(21:41):
every five dollars two dollars, one hundred dollars goes to
purchase the item that the donor has selected.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
That is awesome because I think one of the hard
things about when you want to do good, you think
is this really going to do good? Is my donation
really going to make it to somebody.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
We've all kind of been jaded. We've seen it in
the news. You know of people who you don't want
to do good, and yet it kind of goes a
different way at times. We have a very strict criteria
for our nonprofits, no more than ten percent of the
receipts that they receive in from the giving machine can
(22:21):
go to cover their overhead expenses. I've had to turn
down some very well known nonprofits who say, well, our
overhead is like in the twenty three to twenty four percent,
and I've said, well, I'm sorry. I've also had those
same type of nonprofits come back to me and say,
(22:42):
we've decided that we want to be in this and
so we're going to change it the way that we
do it.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
That's cool, fran I know it's not always easy to
work with your spouse, So what do you see when
you work with other couples on the giving machines?
Speaker 3 (22:55):
I think part of it when we call couples to
do this together, those couples bring strengths to this partnership
that they now are able to stand in front of people,
or they're able to put a spreadsheet together, or whatever
it may be. And it's incredible. There's nothing like it.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
There's nothing, well, just the idea that everybody has something
to offer.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
That unity is so important now in today's day in
time when there's so many things that are trying to
rip us apart and divide us. And this is a
place where it can all just that can all be
done away with and you can come together and focus,
and then you realize, wow, this is one of the
(23:43):
reasons God said that the second great commandment is to
love your neighbor. That if we're all doing that together,
that's right. We're all becoming one, We're all becoming better together,
we're all becoming united, and the divisions are going away.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
If we focus on that, things would get better very quickly. Absolutely,
they really would.
Speaker 6 (24:10):
When I came to the House of Refuge, I arrived
with almost nothing. I was trying to rebuild my life
and take care of my kids with whatever we had.
The items provided from the Light the World Giving Machine
made an impact I wasn't expecting. When you're starting over
from scratch, A simple household item isn't simple. It's dignity,
it's comfort. It's one less thing I have to worry about.
(24:30):
Affording those gifts helped me create a real home for
my children, a place where they can feel safe and
normal again. Knowing a stranger cared enough to choose something
off the Giving Machine reminded me that we're not forgotten.
You have helped us believe again that we're worth investing in.
Thank you for being a part of our journey. You're
giving help change our life.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
It's nice to know that when you're doing something good,
you're helping your community. But I love the idea too
that I can be part of something that is, you know,
the other side of the world.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
I just love that.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
The vast majority of the items that are in machines
stay local, and I think that's really you know, amazing.
The machines that we use in the US and Canada
have thirty cards. Twenty five of those thirty cards are
for local nonprofits. So typically a nonprofit will have five cards,
(25:30):
so we ask for five local charities, and those teams
then go out and find five local charities that can
meet our qualifications. The other five cards we designate for
global charities, so a Red Cross or Days for Girls, UNICEF,
(25:54):
you know something along that line. We have this year
we have twelve global non amazing and so those nonprofits
we divide them up throughout the world and where they are,
and they'll have two or three cards in the machine.
But the vast majority of the items that are in
(26:15):
machines stay.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Local, So you are working with a ton of charities
a ton of nonprofits.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Probably close to six hundred this year.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
I heard, I heard that there is a giving machine
in the North Pole. There is that is way too cool.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Okay, it's Santa Claus's house.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
That's insane. I can't wait to tell my kids that
because that's crazy. So tell me about this North Pole
because I got to know. Okay, who made that happen?
Was Santa? Like, hey, obviously I need to be part
of this. This is the.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Santa. This time he wrote a letter to us.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Oh I love that, Oh I love that. Yeah. No,
I'm like, this is the best way to get on
the good list, Like, how do you the nice list?
Santa's like, this is so easy. You come given the machine,
You're You're on it. You got this.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
So not too far from Fairbanks, Alaska is the North Pole.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
That is so funny.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
And Santa claus House is there. Yeah, we were invited
to put a giving machine, a couple of giving machines there.
Last year was the first time.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Have you been to the North Pole giving machine? And
how Santa doing up there?
Speaker 3 (27:24):
That one is on my bucket list. I am not
gone to that one. When they said that they were
putting giving machines at the North Pole. I'm like, what,
I want to go so bad, so cool, so cool,
so so very cool.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
It really, you know, oftentimes first year cities, it takes
a while to build the momentum and build the awareness,
and the North Pole is not hugely populated.
Speaker 7 (27:52):
Not what it's crazy you a bunch of polar bears
and el Yes, I can't believe it, but you would
be just blown away by the support that we received
from all around that area.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
People would drive for two or three hours to come
to a giving machine in the snow, on frozen roads,
dark with their reindeer.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Yes, you know, whatever it was, that is amazing.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
They blew the socks off what anyone could have imagined.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
That is so cool. And it's happening again.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
And it's happening again this year. The only place we
don't have giving machines Antarctica.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Darn yeah, that one. The penguins they're not good at buttons.
It's like they can't quite get that, but it's too hard.
They can't push the buttons exactly.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
We have gone to several locations, and each one of
them so unique. They are culturally diverse in how they
do and present these launch events in these ribbon cuttings,
how diverse they are in the area that they're at
(29:12):
or the venue that they're at, and how they take
our guidance and are training and retrofit it to where
they are and to the community that they're in. That's
the beautiful thing about how different each one of these are.
(29:33):
And so we would challenge your listeners that if they've
got a couple in their neighborhood or in their area,
or if they're going on vacation and there's a light
in the world giving machine near them, to go visit it,
because they're all very very different.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Wow. I mean, if you're at the North Pole, I
think you truly qualify as a global organization. Carl, You've
gone around, You've seen the machines all over the world.
Tell us about some of your worldwide experiences with the
giving machines.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
You know that the thing that I have learned most
in all of my travels is that the item that
you see in the machine and what you think that
benefit is is just the tip of the iceberg. Many
years ago, I was in Bosnia and I was meeting
(30:26):
with a group of men in this village, beautiful place
in Bosnia. There's no work. People are leaving, Unemployment is
just skyrocketed, and these men are trying to survive and
take care of their families. So a year earlier, they
had each been recipients of beehives from the giving machine.
(30:51):
They each received ten beehives. Had they ever been a
beekeeper before, No, but they received the beehives, and they
received training on how to care for them and all.
So I was over there. We were driving to this
location where these men were to be, and as we
(31:13):
were driving, I was told, we're not really sure what
we're going to find here. And then that's when they
told me the story of these men who were enemies
on opposing sides of the Bosnian War twenty five years ago.
They were literally fighting one another. We don't know if
they're going to be welcoming, if we're going to be
(31:34):
kicked off. We just have no idea. Well, they did
welcome us, and we went in and I sat there
in this very tiny room on a couch with a
few others, and I looked out at these roughly ten
men and realized that they didn't now ever talk to
(31:57):
one another, these men ever, not until that day. Yeah,
at the end of our conversation, we all took a
picture with our arms around each other outside in front
of their beehives. Yeah, no one standing in front of
a giving machine buying a beehive would ever think that
(32:23):
that beehive would have that kind of impact, and that
those are the kinds of experiences that have changed my life.
I met a woman in Kenya. She and her husband
they were unable to have children, so the community just
completely dismissed them. So sad. She received a pig from
(32:46):
a giving machine in a couple of years after she
had raised this pig that was absolutely the biggest pig
I've ever seen in my life.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Amazing.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
She had been able to breed that pig, sell and
buy more pigs. She had the whole pig farm essentially,
Oh my goodness, and uh was making quite a living
on this.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
She told me that because of that pig, she's now
welcome in the community because the people come to her
for the goods and the food. She has received her
dignity and she has received a life that she never
(33:35):
thought she would have.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
And she's blessing so many other people too.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
I mean, wow, So again I say, no one standing
in front of a giving machine, purchasing a pig. Would
ever think that it could have that kind of effect
on an individual or on a village.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
That's incredible. Thank you, Carl, Steve Fran. Anything come to
mind for you.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
We've got a lot of stories, but one of them,
I bet you do.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
I bet you've got hours.
Speaker 4 (34:03):
One of my favorites happened the first time that Idaho
received their giving machines, and friend and I went up
there to help install and make sure everything was going right.
You know, as new city leaders, you're nervous. So we
went up there and across the courtyard the far side,
I see this gentlemen. As he got closer and closer
(34:26):
to the giving machines, it was clear that he needed
that the items that were in the giving machines. You
can tell by his coat, you can tell by his
face that he must have slept outside the nybe before,
probably somewhere nearby. And I said, if you need shelter tonight,
(34:47):
or if you need food, we have the name of
the charities right here and we can call them to
help you. And he smiled and he said, no, that's
not why I'm here. I'm here now because I need
to do something for my children. And I've not been
(35:08):
able to see my children for a few years. And
we looked through very quickly. He pointed to a backpack
with school supplies and it was ten dollars and he said,
can I donate ten dollars for my children? And I said, well,
we can't write now because the machines aren't operating, but
(35:31):
I can do that for you tomorrow. And he said,
I don't know where I'll be tomorrow. And he starts
looking through his pockets and he turns them all inside
out and there's nothing in any of his pockets, and
he said, I've got to have ten dollars. Finally, he
reaches into what pocket and pulls out a pocket he'd
(35:54):
been through before, and it was empty because I saw it.
And he pulls out a ten bill and I said,
that's a miracle. And he said, will you donate this
tomorrow and make sure that my children get their backpacks.
(36:18):
I said, something in me believes that he will make
sure that your children have backpacks and school supplies because
of what you have done today. I have it liked
the giving machine jacket, and it's still got a little
stained from how much he cried on my shoulder.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
What a miracle for everybody. I mean, he changed your life.
Maybe you made an impact in his life. Who knows.
What an incredible experience and a powerful experience, and just
such great insight to what these machines are all about.
It's right, that is so beautiful. So obviously these machines
(37:05):
have huge impact on people's lives, and obviously it's had
a huge impact on your life. You know, we're here
talking today because we want to show people that one
decision that you make can cause a ripple that you
don't even quite know how big it can become. You know,
you've shared these amazing stories about the impact on people's
(37:26):
lives all over the world, but I'd love to know
what this has been like for you personally, What impact
has it had on you, and maybe what's changed in
your life as you've been involved with the giving machines.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
For forty some odd years. I was in the advertising business,
and throughout my career I've thought, you know, all this
is wonderful, but what does it really mean? What's some
purpose here? Do I really care whether another can of
diet Cope got sold, or another Hamburger gets sold or
share you know, and I remember my first trip in
(38:03):
doing this, and I just I came back a different person.
I had not seen that kind of poverty. Yet at
the same time, I hadn't seen that kind of joy.
You know, no one was complaining. I met a young
(38:25):
girl in Nairobi who had been given the gift of
an education, and she said, I want the person who
gave me that this gift to know that I'm working hard.
I want her to be proud of me. She graduated
number one in the class. And I think, boy, of
(38:47):
all the things that I have, comforts of life that
I have. And I go and I see these places
all over the world and meet these individuals who are
not looking for a hand out, as they say, They're
looking just for somebody to believe in them, just for right,
(39:07):
give me a hand up.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
It's the hand, yeah, I would just say, it's a
lift up. Right, give me your hand so I can
lift you up.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
Yeah. I've seen how these are not just immediate beneficial
items or things in some regards a meal, yes, but
in other ways this is impacting generations.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
We've been doing this so long that the impact is
also on our children. How long have we been doing this?
Speaker 2 (39:36):
Again?
Speaker 3 (39:36):
Eight years. Yet this is our eighth year. Our youngest
is twenty one and our oldest is thirty. This initiative
has been part of our family and the ripple effect.
It's going to be generational. This is something that they
(39:59):
will carry with them. We appreciate what we have, but
we also are not selfish with what we have, and
I think that that is something that we have cherished
in our marriage.
Speaker 4 (40:16):
As we work together, our bonds grow closer together. We
share experiences together. You know, it's not always easy working
on a giving machine in a city or for twenty
somethings cities that we help to watch over, but we
work it together. You know, when I go to work
(40:36):
and I do nano materials, deep science, right, it's hard
to bring some of that home and share that with
Fran as much as she just sits there and says,
I love, I love to hear that story.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
But yeah, she's like, please please no one.
Speaker 4 (40:55):
But as we as we have these experiences that we share,
we just go close together and it binds us closer together.
And there is you know, besides the giving part of
the giving machines, there's a lifting part and a uniting part,
not just for couples. As we work together, us being
(41:15):
more and more united. It goes to the families. Families
get united as they do this like you did, and
communities get united together in a cause. I mean, we
were at one launch event and sure enough we had
a far left individual at the giving machine sitting two
chairs to my left, and a far right individual in
(41:38):
the politics sitting two chairs to my right. And as
it was time to go to the ribbon cutting, I
grabbed the one by the arm and I said, would
you walk with me?
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (41:47):
She said I would walk with you. And then I
hurried us up just fast enough to catch up with
the one who was on my right side, and I said,
all right, congressman US congressman said all right, will you
walk together with me? And yes? And I said do
you know so and so? And do you know so
and so? And they said, well, yes I do. And
he said, well, thank you for all the work that
(42:07):
you've done in the great state of Arizona. And she said, well,
thank you for the work you're doing in Congress at
the US level. And I'm thinking this just just just
big check off my bucket list. That's right, that's something
they had connected over this and that they're going to
stand basically side by side and cut ribbon at the
(42:28):
machine that uniting, whether it's communities otherwise, has worked for
friend and I in our marriage as well.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
That's amazing. I think so many of us we often
sort of stay in our own little bubbles, and I'm
so grateful that you could tell us and share with us,
and then hopefully we can all get out there to
these giving machines this year.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
Yeah, there's one hundred and twenty six cities.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
They're everywhere, guys. We got to get there and go
get a chicken. Okay, chicky chicky boom boom. He's out
there doing some good things. And we're so so grateful.
You've sacrificed time and your efforts and your talents and
your energy to do this, and you're so humble about it,
and I'm so grateful that you have done this for
the world.
Speaker 4 (43:12):
We couldn't feel like we're in a better place for ourselves.
Speaker 3 (43:15):
We love God, we love our family, we love our community,
and we love our brothers and sisters that we've been
placed here on this journey to be with and that
responsibility falls on each one of us.
Speaker 4 (43:29):
We have a desire that everyone gets to experience the
true giving machine experience, and there's different levels of that.
We've talked about love that the easy one is swipe
your card, make a pick and watch it drop and
you'll feel some joy. But we want them to experience
in its fullness, which is take some time ahead of time.
(43:50):
All the cards are available in each one of the
cities on their Facebook page or Instagram page. You can
see everything that you could donate. Take some time contemplate
for yourself, being inspired us to what to select. And
then as you go down to the giving machines and
you purchase that item for them, for your brother and sister,
(44:12):
think about them as that card drops, it's going to them,
and then go home and take all your hopes for
that person, that brother or sister with you and pray
to God that he will provide the blessings that you
hope for them to have.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
That is beautiful and amazing, and we will pray that
it goes well for you guys this season, and that
all the machines are safe and sound, and that at
the end of the season they get tucked in bed
for another year in the future. Thank you so much
for talking with us today. And for sharing your hearts
(44:53):
and we couldn't be more grateful. You're doing exactly what
we hope that the ripple effect can do too. We
can all make these small decisions each day to make
the world a better place.
Speaker 3 (45:04):
Thank you, Jenna, Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
Wow, Carl, Stephen and Franz. They're incredible. And come on,
vending machines that give goats and chickens. That's next level generosity.
I really want you guys to experience this, and it's
so much fun and it really brightened our Christmas season.
So go find a Light the World giving machine near you.
You can swipe give and literally change lives. And of
(45:34):
course you got to tell me what you picked. So
if you're out there using those giving machines, come on
let us know. Because you're creating ripples in your community.
Use the hashtag ripple effect and tag me at Jenakim
Jones on social media. I want to hear all about it,
and of course we'll see you next time. On our
next episode, we explore how one woman saw food, waste
(45:57):
and hunger through a completely different lends, and how she
sparked a movement that's reshaping communities across the country. It's
a reminder that big solutions can start with a single meal.
Hey, I'm Jenakim Jones. Welcome to The Ripple Effect, the
podcast that proves one small act can change everything. You know,
like when someone lets you merge in traffic and you
calm down and don't get all road rageye on them,
and you're feeling all good about that, you're basically a saint.
I'm pretty sure that's how that works. Saintliness on a
(00:26):
morning commute can really set you up for a nice day.
I really think it can. You know how people always
say that when you give a gift, it's really you
the giver that gets the most. Well, I gotta be honest,
that phrase never really did it for me growing up.
After you hear from our guests today, we're all gonna
understand that phrase a little bit more, because I know
(00:47):
I did. Today's episode is about vending machines, but not
just any ordinary vending machines. They're giving machines. What started
as a small idea in one community went on to
red joy in one hundred and twenty six cities across
twenty one countries worldwide. Even the Super Bowl champion Kansas
City Chiefs with coach Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and Travis
(01:10):
Kelce are helping spread the word.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Hey, Kansas City, there's another big Red making plays this year,
the Big Red Given Machines at Union Station.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Case, let's huddle up and make a difference this holiday season.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Together, we can light the.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
World the world.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
But what are the giving machines? These are vending machines
where you don't get anything. There's no candy bars, there's
no diet cokes. All right, cheer up, cheer up. I
know that can be a hard thing. There's not even
you know that, like one sad bag of funions. You
can't even have that. But you can buy a goat,
a chicken, a blanket, a meal for someone in need.
(01:54):
I feel like all of our heads are exploding. It's
so cool. I speak from experience because I have used
the giving machines. Last year, my family and I we
bought a chicken. We also bought a goat mm hmm,
and my kids were like, hold on, what what are
we doing? And I had to kind of walk them
through and then who it clicked The light bulb turned on.
(02:16):
They were so into it. We talk a lot more
about it in the interview, but let's just say it
was very, very fun. Our first guest today is Carl Cheney,
and he manages the operation one hundred and twenty six cities,
twenty one countries and yes, even a giving machine at
the North Hole. I mean, that's just got to be
(02:37):
a shortcut to being on the nice list for Christmas? Right,
can't hurt to hedge your bets this time of year.
And there is one place where there are no giving machines.
Can you guess where Carl's gonna let us know. You'll
also hear from Stephen and Fran Lauder, who helped make
these giving machines happen on the ground. They're the local
area managers who keep things running. They literally watch people
(02:59):
change their lives and other people's lives, because when you
give through these machines, it's really not just about donating
a chicken or a hygiene kit. It's about so much
more than just that item. So please get your tissues
ready because this one is gonna hit you right in
the fields. So let's meet them, Carl, Steve, Fran and
(03:20):
the Giving Machines. Carl, it's so nice to meet you.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Likewise, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Thank you so much for being here. You look great.
I like the suit I feel under dressed. I think
I should have glammed up a little better. All right, No,
you look great, Thank you. I'm so excited to talk
about the giving machines. What a great idea.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
You know.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I am no stranger to a vending machine. I know
my way around, you know, I know how to really
you know, back in the day when the vending machines
were kind of old school and we had to use
cash in them. Remember those days, And you'd have the
crumpled dollar and you'd like use the vending machine to
iron it out. You can't have a wrinkled dollar, won't
accept it, and that's not trouble. No, those are good days.
(04:04):
Those are good days. But these vending machines are different.
So I have to know whose idea was it to
completely flip the script on the vending machine and say, hey,
how about instead of getting something, we give something. Where
did this come from?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Well? I was not around when it first began. I
came in a couple of years into the program. But
in twenty sixteen, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
day Saints launched a Christmas initiative called Light the World,
and the purpose for Light the World was to encourage
the public to go and do something nice for somebody.
(04:44):
Whether it's a play of cookies to your neighbor next door,
whether it's writing a letter, whatever it might be, just
do something kind. Yeah, And so I think in that
first year there was like an oddvent calendar whe you'd
open up, you know, on each day.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Yeah, my kids love those.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And you could say, okay, today I'm going to I'm
gonna say hello to somebody I don't know. And in
early twenty seventeen, as I understand it, a few church
leaders came and said, all right, we've done this. Is
there something that we can do to encourage this even
easier and help people serve one another a little bit easier.
(05:27):
So there was a brainstorm session, and as brainstorm sessions go,
everything goes on the board and someone threw out the idea,
wouldn't it be cool if we could have people donate
items out of a vending machine.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
I can imagine the pitch meeting, right. They're like, no, no,
it's a vending machine where no one's going to get anything.
And they're like, wait, so no snickers, Like no, no, no,
You're just going to do a good thing for someone else.
So like not, there's not one skittle to be found,
Like no, no, You're just gonna do something nice, feel good,
right right, donations out of a vending machine. What an idea,
(06:06):
Steve Frinn. It's so nice to meet you too. Thank
you for being with.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Us, Thanks for having us. What a privilege, Steve.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I'm going to start with you. Okay. We spoke with
your friend Carl Cheney and he told us that he's
been working with the Giving Machine since twenty nineteen. But
from what I've been told, you've been working with giving
machines even longer, which is amazing. Tell us how you
got started and what brought you to these giving machines.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
We started in twenty and eighteen and twenty seventeen is
when we heard about them, and then we just had
a wonderful time with the Light the World initiative before
the Giving Machines were introduced, and so when the Giving
Machines were introduced in the assignment was made through two groups.
The Communication Group of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter day Saints or what your audience might recognize as
(06:59):
the More Church, and through our mission to be a
part of the Giving Machines now we didn't know what
they were vending machines for the church.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Okay, that's right, vending machines. What are we doing here
to our church?
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Anyway, we got the training and then we realized, well,
the Lord can work in mysterious ways, and so we're
going to give it a chance.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
So in every city there is a city lead or leaders.
Sometimes it's a couple of individuals, a husband wife for
two individuals, and then they call or ask seek out
people to come and work with them. We've outlined, you know,
a suggested team. So there should be somebody there who
(07:47):
can handle all of the volunteer assignments. Someone who's got
some strong media relations or government relations, someone who can
work with local nonprofits in the area, someone who can
help with a ribbon cutting event, and all of those
kinds of things.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
We were a part of the first five Cities. Oh wow,
that took it on, and our little city of Gilbert,
Arizona was matched up against New York, London, all the
big cities of the world.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Right, Yeah, that's not intimidating at all at all. Okay,
very cool.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
All of the pieces were in place to make that successful,
and to me, that's just a testimony. It's it's a
reassurance of God's plan. He knows and he starts things
well in advance, so he can take silly vending machines
and turn them into these things that just give joy everywhere.
(08:46):
And when we think about that, that's the blessings. We
want to provide as many blessings as we can for
our brothers and sisters throughout all of the world.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
We call them the little Mighty Red machines because they're mighty.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
They're mighty, the little mighty red machine that is so cute.
We have to remember that. Okay, wow, And you guys
volunteer to do this. This is all volunteer, are we
do We do absolutely yes.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Our first was an assignment because we didn't know about
them too much, so we took that assignment. But we
would volunteer over and over again to do this. And
all of our cities have volunteers. Every city has city
leads who are volunteers, and they're from different walks in
the community, from different faith in the community, and they
all contribute to make sure the giving machines are the
(09:39):
best experience that people can have.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
It's a ton and I know it's time and it's
a time of year when people are really busy. Fran
What do you think brings these people together? Why are
people excited to volunteer for these giving machines to help out.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
I think at the start it was so new and
so different because some of the items in the machines
were a cow, a goat, chickens. You get on social
media say I bought a cow in a bending machine,
you know. So, I think the newness and the excitement
(10:18):
of these machines really took it to a place, and
then people started realizing the meat was these incredible charities,
the local charities, the global charities that are in the
trenches every day that clothe and feed and educate and
(10:39):
help and protect our brothers and sisters. That's when people
started going, this is an incredible initiative. This is something
that no matter my walk of life, I can help
my brothers and sisters. We predder elves in trying to
(11:01):
educate more and more people about what these charities do,
what these charities are all about. Steve loves to ask
a charity lead or director, why do you do this?
It's definitely not for the pay, It's definitely not for
the hours. Why do you do this? And so Steve
(11:24):
and I then started asking people, well, why do you
come to the machines? What's your why? And the why
is the heartstrings and that's what ties us to those
charitable efforts that these machines are allowing us to do.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Carl what happened next with these mighty red machines.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
After a few workings of the idea, they tested it
in New York City before the Christmas holidays. Oh, it
was kind of a stunt in a way, would be
people purchase a jump rope, a literal jump rope, knowing
that it's going for someone else, and come to find
out people actually really liked it. And so in twenty
(12:12):
seventeen we set up three, maybe four machines here in
Salt Lake City again just to see would anybody do this?
And in the process of setting those machines up, there
was a line of people, Oh my gosh, waiting to participate.
And at that time they looked at each other and said,
(12:34):
I think we're onto something here. I often think it
would be really hysterical to try and see a little goat,
you know, going around the coils of a vending machine
or a chicken or something. Yeah, can you imagine, But
you know, using that as an example that that's what
(12:54):
was drawing people. How many people have ever bought a
chicken from a vending machine up until you know, or
how many people had bought a well or I know,
or had bought meals for the homeless, or given shelter
to a battered woman and her family, whatever it might be.
(13:15):
Those are just not typical things. There's no skittles.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
That's what's cool about it is because it's one you're
doing a good thing, but you're kind of opening your mind.
Like when you see the machine, you see the different offerings,
you go, oh my gosh, I didn't even know I
could that was a need or that's a need I
could do something about. Right, Yeah, it's cool, Steve. You
mentioned that this is something that would bless everyone. A
(13:39):
lot of people might not use the word blessing or
bless often. Maybe they do, maybe they don't, But where
does that come from? What do you mean by that?
Speaker 4 (13:47):
Well, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter day Saints, we take the first and second commandment
very much to heart, and that second being lovely neighbor,
as God loves them. And as God loves you. And
we're not the only ones, of course that do that.
And that's where he raises up nonprofits from other faiths,
(14:11):
many of those other Christian faiths, and he does his
work across the globe through those nonprofits. But we also
try to participate in that wholeheartedly with all of our hearts.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Right, that's a really cool perspective that I had not
even really considered that all these I mean, we are
the ripple effect, So I might use the word ripple here.
All these decisions that had been made for years and
years to help, to serve, to try to find ways
to bring people together, and all of that led up
to these giving machines even being possible.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
That's correct. And then you go serve and you bring
some of your friends with you, and the feeling at
the end of those service hours is always the most
joyful feeling. We know with our kids, if we have
them in a depressed spot, we take them out to
just serve projects. Yeah, and that shares them up. At
the end of it, they're a different person.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Because it's true. I think the best way to forget
about some of your troubles is to look outward, you know,
stop obsessing over your own stuff and start thinking about
other people. So I love that. I love that it's
brought other faiths together too, to go, Hey, we have
so much more in common than not, so let's work together. Yeah,
(15:26):
that's really cool. And as you know, the mighty Red
machines are making a big impact. Here's an example of
how the.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
Light the World Giving machines have made a very real,
tangible impact for our families at House of Refuge. Because
of the generosity poured through those machines, we've been able
to provide essentials like groceries, hygiene supplies, betting, and household
needs that immediately reduce the stress for parents and help
stabilize families more quickly. Those gifts directly translate into hope, dignity,
(15:55):
and breathing room, allowing our families to focus on employment, healing,
and building a new future.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
We've seen the communities that have just embraced these as
their own and they're always asking are we getting the
Light the World Giving machines again, because it's become now
part of the community and that's what we love to see.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Well, what a great thing to make service a tradition. Yes,
just make it part of who you are and instead
of a once in a while random oh today I
might do something nice, No, just to plan on it.
This is what we do. This is who we are.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
Our next step with the machines as we got to twelve,
when we look at the history and we're working towards
you know, Okay, how do we get to twenty cities?
How do we get to then one hundred cities? And
what came to both of our heads and right away
spilled out into that conversation, was well, we move the
machines around. We don't just leave them in one place, right,
(16:53):
We take the machines and we move them from one
city to another in that six week time period. And
we're in charge of running test a pilot to see
how that would work. And it worked very very well.
There's a lot of fun stories around that, and that's
why you see now all of these mobile giving machines
throughout the different cities, and that's allowed us to go
(17:15):
to one hundred and something cities.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Now, wow, one hundred and that's crazy. Slap on a
couple of wheels. Let's go. Let's take these things going.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
I like it to come on the back of a truck.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
And run Themck, come on, this can't be that hard,
these giant, heavy vending machines. That's right, that's right, Carl.
We were coming right out of the pandemic around this time.
So what effect did that have on the program?
Speaker 2 (17:40):
We wondered in twenty twenty one if it was even
going to come back. You know, everybody was coming out
of COVID, nobody knew anything, and I'd said, look, I
think we've got something here. Let's just give it one
more shot. So I was given permission to do ten
cities in twenty twenty one, and they all had to
be in the United.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
States, shipping worldwide, no shipping or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
And it was that year when it really the rest
of the world started seeing what was going on. So
we went from ten machines one year the next year
to twenty seven machines the next year, sixty one cities.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I have had experience with the giving machines. They came
to right next door to where I live in Georgia,
and I took my kids, and I think what I
appreciated so much was it did bring me a little
bit closer to someone that I don't know. You know,
we bought a chicken. We named the chicken Chicky Chicky
(18:39):
boom boom. It was very exciting. Okay, my kids were
so excited. They were giving the chicken a backstory. It
was a whole thing. But it was so much fun
because I went I would have never had the opportunity
to do that in my everyday life. And it did
make me think, why is this import and who are
(19:00):
these people? And I was just that one step closer
to someone else and thinking about somebody else, And it
was a really great experience for my kids to talk
about that too, you know, why would we donate this
and what is it for? And how could that help
somebody who has a completely different life than I do. Anyway,
(19:21):
I just loved it. So I completely love the idea
that we're bringing everybody closer to what these charities are
and making us go, wow, the world is big. There's
people everywhere that need help, and I can do that
with just a couple of clicks. You know.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
I love the way that you took the time to
ponder what do we select and even the time to
name it chicky Chicky boom boom. That is just the
best thing ever. And where is chicky chicki boom boom
today you don't know. You hope it went to the
right people to make it a big difference, right, And
I believe it did. I believe chick chicken boom who
(20:00):
was out there somewhere having more chickens And now you've
got a whole village that's probably the business that's probably
taken care of because their chicken chicken boom boom. And
to think about that is a wonderful thing. So we
do ask that first question that friend talked about, why
why are you choosing that? What does that mean? And
we hope that it's an inspirational choice, just like yours.
(20:22):
And we hope that people do think about the recipients,
even going to the point of praying for them. Yeah,
that they that those recipients will receive that and that
it will bless their lives in so many ways. And
some of our charities are local, so you might run
into those people at the grocery store and never know
(20:43):
that they were affected by something that you did. But
their story after story after story from nonprofit leaders about
how people were affected local as well as globally.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Wow, locally and globally. Yeah, So Carl you've really got.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Machines all over the world worldwide. Last year we were
at one hundred and seven cities. This year we'll be
at one hundred and twenty six cities whoa on six
continents in twenty one countries, and so in a very
short amount of time, this has exploded. The Church of
(21:19):
Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints sponsors this. They pay
for all of the equipment, they pay for all of
the local marketing. One percent of the operational costs are
paid for by the church, but the church receives no
financial benefit or gain. One hundred percent of every donation
(21:41):
every five dollars two dollars, one hundred dollars goes to
purchase the item that the donor has selected.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
That is awesome because I think one of the hard
things about when you want to do good, you think
is this really going to do good? Is my donation
really going to make it to somebody.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
We've all kind of been jaded. We've seen it in
the news. You know of people who you don't want
to do good, and yet it kind of goes a
different way at times. We have a very strict criteria
for our nonprofits, no more than ten percent of the
receipts that they receive in from the giving machine can
(22:21):
go to cover their overhead expenses. I've had to turn
down some very well known nonprofits who say, well, our
overhead is like in the twenty three to twenty four percent,
and I've said, well, I'm sorry. I've also had those
same type of nonprofits come back to me and say,
(22:42):
we've decided that we want to be in this and
so we're going to change it the way that we
do it.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
That's cool, fran I know it's not always easy to
work with your spouse, So what do you see when
you work with other couples on the giving machines?
Speaker 3 (22:55):
I think part of it when we call couples to
do this together, those couples bring strengths to this partnership
that they now are able to stand in front of people,
or they're able to put a spreadsheet together, or whatever
it may be. And it's incredible. There's nothing like it.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
There's nothing, well, just the idea that everybody has something
to offer.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
That unity is so important now in today's day in
time when there's so many things that are trying to
rip us apart and divide us. And this is a
place where it can all just that can all be
done away with and you can come together and focus,
and then you realize, wow, this is one of the
(23:43):
reasons God said that the second great commandment is to
love your neighbor. That if we're all doing that together,
that's right. We're all becoming one, We're all becoming better together,
we're all becoming united, and the divisions are going away.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
If we focus on that, things would get better very quickly. Absolutely,
they really would.
Speaker 6 (24:10):
When I came to the House of Refuge, I arrived
with almost nothing. I was trying to rebuild my life
and take care of my kids with whatever we had.
The items provided from the Light the World Giving Machine
made an impact I wasn't expecting. When you're starting over
from scratch, A simple household item isn't simple. It's dignity,
it's comfort. It's one less thing I have to worry about.
(24:30):
Affording those gifts helped me create a real home for
my children, a place where they can feel safe and
normal again. Knowing a stranger cared enough to choose something
off the Giving Machine reminded me that we're not forgotten.
You have helped us believe again that we're worth investing in.
Thank you for being a part of our journey. You're
giving help change our life.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
It's nice to know that when you're doing something good,
you're helping your community. But I love the idea too
that I can be part of something that is, you know,
the other side of the world.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
I just love that.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
The vast majority of the items that are in machines
stay local, and I think that's really you know, amazing.
The machines that we use in the US and Canada
have thirty cards. Twenty five of those thirty cards are
for local nonprofits. So typically a nonprofit will have five cards,
(25:30):
so we ask for five local charities, and those teams
then go out and find five local charities that can
meet our qualifications. The other five cards we designate for
global charities, so a Red Cross or Days for Girls, UNICEF,
(25:54):
you know something along that line. We have this year
we have twelve global non amazing and so those nonprofits
we divide them up throughout the world and where they are,
and they'll have two or three cards in the machine.
But the vast majority of the items that are in
(26:15):
machines stay.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Local, So you are working with a ton of charities
a ton of nonprofits.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Probably close to six hundred this year.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
I heard, I heard that there is a giving machine
in the North Pole. There is that is way too cool.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Okay, it's Santa Claus's house.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
That's insane. I can't wait to tell my kids that
because that's crazy. So tell me about this North Pole
because I got to know. Okay, who made that happen?
Was Santa? Like, hey, obviously I need to be part
of this. This is the.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Santa. This time he wrote a letter to us.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Oh I love that, Oh I love that. Yeah. No,
I'm like, this is the best way to get on
the good list, Like, how do you the nice list?
Santa's like, this is so easy. You come given the machine,
You're You're on it. You got this.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
So not too far from Fairbanks, Alaska is the North Pole.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
That is so funny.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
And Santa claus House is there. Yeah, we were invited
to put a giving machine, a couple of giving machines there.
Last year was the first time.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Have you been to the North Pole giving machine? And
how Santa doing up there?
Speaker 3 (27:24):
That one is on my bucket list. I am not
gone to that one. When they said that they were
putting giving machines at the North Pole. I'm like, what,
I want to go so bad, so cool, so cool,
so so very cool.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
It really, you know, oftentimes first year cities, it takes
a while to build the momentum and build the awareness,
and the North Pole is not hugely populated.
Speaker 7 (27:52):
Not what it's crazy you a bunch of polar bears
and el Yes, I can't believe it, but you would
be just blown away by the support that we received
from all around that area.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
People would drive for two or three hours to come
to a giving machine in the snow, on frozen roads,
dark with their reindeer.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Yes, you know, whatever it was, that is amazing.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
They blew the socks off what anyone could have imagined.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
That is so cool. And it's happening again.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
And it's happening again this year. The only place we
don't have giving machines Antarctica.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Darn yeah, that one. The penguins they're not good at buttons.
It's like they can't quite get that, but it's too hard.
They can't push the buttons exactly.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
We have gone to several locations, and each one of
them so unique. They are culturally diverse in how they
do and present these launch events in these ribbon cuttings,
how diverse they are in the area that they're at
(29:12):
or the venue that they're at, and how they take
our guidance and are training and retrofit it to where
they are and to the community that they're in. That's
the beautiful thing about how different each one of these are.
(29:33):
And so we would challenge your listeners that if they've
got a couple in their neighborhood or in their area,
or if they're going on vacation and there's a light
in the world giving machine near them, to go visit it,
because they're all very very different.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Wow. I mean, if you're at the North Pole, I
think you truly qualify as a global organization. Carl, You've
gone around, You've seen the machines all over the world.
Tell us about some of your worldwide experiences with the
giving machines.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
You know that the thing that I have learned most
in all of my travels is that the item that
you see in the machine and what you think that
benefit is is just the tip of the iceberg. Many
years ago, I was in Bosnia and I was meeting
(30:26):
with a group of men in this village, beautiful place
in Bosnia. There's no work. People are leaving, Unemployment is
just skyrocketed, and these men are trying to survive and
take care of their families. So a year earlier, they
had each been recipients of beehives from the giving machine.
(30:51):
They each received ten beehives. Had they ever been a
beekeeper before, No, but they received the beehives, and they
received training on how to care for them and all.
So I was over there. We were driving to this
location where these men were to be, and as we
(31:13):
were driving, I was told, we're not really sure what
we're going to find here. And then that's when they
told me the story of these men who were enemies
on opposing sides of the Bosnian War twenty five years ago.
They were literally fighting one another. We don't know if
they're going to be welcoming, if we're going to be
(31:34):
kicked off. We just have no idea. Well, they did
welcome us, and we went in and I sat there
in this very tiny room on a couch with a
few others, and I looked out at these roughly ten
men and realized that they didn't now ever talk to
(31:57):
one another, these men ever, not until that day. Yeah,
at the end of our conversation, we all took a
picture with our arms around each other outside in front
of their beehives. Yeah, no one standing in front of
a giving machine buying a beehive would ever think that
(32:23):
that beehive would have that kind of impact, and that
those are the kinds of experiences that have changed my life.
I met a woman in Kenya. She and her husband
they were unable to have children, so the community just
completely dismissed them. So sad. She received a pig from
(32:46):
a giving machine in a couple of years after she
had raised this pig that was absolutely the biggest pig
I've ever seen in my life.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Amazing.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
She had been able to breed that pig, sell and
buy more pigs. She had the whole pig farm essentially,
Oh my goodness, and uh was making quite a living
on this.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
She told me that because of that pig, she's now
welcome in the community because the people come to her
for the goods and the food. She has received her
dignity and she has received a life that she never
(33:35):
thought she would have.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
And she's blessing so many other people too.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
I mean, wow, So again I say, no one standing
in front of a giving machine, purchasing a pig. Would
ever think that it could have that kind of effect
on an individual or on a village.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
That's incredible. Thank you, Carl, Steve Fran. Anything come to
mind for you.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
We've got a lot of stories, but one of them,
I bet you do.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
I bet you've got hours.
Speaker 4 (34:03):
One of my favorites happened the first time that Idaho
received their giving machines, and friend and I went up
there to help install and make sure everything was going right.
You know, as new city leaders, you're nervous. So we
went up there and across the courtyard the far side,
I see this gentlemen. As he got closer and closer
(34:26):
to the giving machines, it was clear that he needed
that the items that were in the giving machines. You
can tell by his coat, you can tell by his
face that he must have slept outside the nybe before,
probably somewhere nearby. And I said, if you need shelter tonight,
(34:47):
or if you need food, we have the name of
the charities right here and we can call them to
help you. And he smiled and he said, no, that's
not why I'm here. I'm here now because I need
to do something for my children. And I've not been
(35:08):
able to see my children for a few years. And
we looked through very quickly. He pointed to a backpack
with school supplies and it was ten dollars and he said,
can I donate ten dollars for my children? And I said, well,
we can't write now because the machines aren't operating, but
(35:31):
I can do that for you tomorrow. And he said,
I don't know where I'll be tomorrow. And he starts
looking through his pockets and he turns them all inside
out and there's nothing in any of his pockets, and
he said, I've got to have ten dollars. Finally, he
reaches into what pocket and pulls out a pocket he'd
(35:54):
been through before, and it was empty because I saw it.
And he pulls out a ten bill and I said,
that's a miracle. And he said, will you donate this
tomorrow and make sure that my children get their backpacks.
(36:18):
I said, something in me believes that he will make
sure that your children have backpacks and school supplies because
of what you have done today. I have it liked
the giving machine jacket, and it's still got a little
stained from how much he cried on my shoulder.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
What a miracle for everybody. I mean, he changed your life.
Maybe you made an impact in his life. Who knows.
What an incredible experience and a powerful experience, and just
such great insight to what these machines are all about.
It's right, that is so beautiful. So obviously these machines
(37:05):
have huge impact on people's lives, and obviously it's had
a huge impact on your life. You know, we're here
talking today because we want to show people that one
decision that you make can cause a ripple that you
don't even quite know how big it can become. You know,
you've shared these amazing stories about the impact on people's
(37:26):
lives all over the world, but I'd love to know
what this has been like for you personally, What impact
has it had on you, and maybe what's changed in
your life as you've been involved with the giving machines.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
For forty some odd years. I was in the advertising business,
and throughout my career I've thought, you know, all this
is wonderful, but what does it really mean? What's some
purpose here? Do I really care whether another can of
diet Cope got sold, or another Hamburger gets sold or
share you know, and I remember my first trip in
(38:03):
doing this, and I just I came back a different person.
I had not seen that kind of poverty. Yet at
the same time, I hadn't seen that kind of joy.
You know, no one was complaining. I met a young
(38:25):
girl in Nairobi who had been given the gift of
an education, and she said, I want the person who
gave me that this gift to know that I'm working hard.
I want her to be proud of me. She graduated
number one in the class. And I think, boy, of
(38:47):
all the things that I have, comforts of life that
I have. And I go and I see these places
all over the world and meet these individuals who are
not looking for a hand out, as they say, They're
looking just for somebody to believe in them, just for right,
(39:07):
give me a hand up.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
It's the hand, yeah, I would just say, it's a
lift up. Right, give me your hand so I can
lift you up.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
Yeah. I've seen how these are not just immediate beneficial
items or things in some regards a meal, yes, but
in other ways this is impacting generations.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
We've been doing this so long that the impact is
also on our children. How long have we been doing this?
Speaker 2 (39:36):
Again?
Speaker 3 (39:36):
Eight years. Yet this is our eighth year. Our youngest
is twenty one and our oldest is thirty. This initiative
has been part of our family and the ripple effect.
It's going to be generational. This is something that they
(39:59):
will carry with them. We appreciate what we have, but
we also are not selfish with what we have, and
I think that that is something that we have cherished
in our marriage.
Speaker 4 (40:16):
As we work together, our bonds grow closer together. We
share experiences together. You know, it's not always easy working
on a giving machine in a city or for twenty
somethings cities that we help to watch over, but we
work it together. You know, when I go to work
(40:36):
and I do nano materials, deep science, right, it's hard
to bring some of that home and share that with
Fran as much as she just sits there and says,
I love, I love to hear that story.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
But yeah, she's like, please please no one.
Speaker 4 (40:55):
But as we as we have these experiences that we share,
we just go close together and it binds us closer together.
And there is you know, besides the giving part of
the giving machines, there's a lifting part and a uniting part,
not just for couples. As we work together, us being
(41:15):
more and more united. It goes to the families. Families
get united as they do this like you did, and
communities get united together in a cause. I mean, we
were at one launch event and sure enough we had
a far left individual at the giving machine sitting two
chairs to my left, and a far right individual in
(41:38):
the politics sitting two chairs to my right. And as
it was time to go to the ribbon cutting, I
grabbed the one by the arm and I said, would
you walk with me?
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (41:47):
She said I would walk with you. And then I
hurried us up just fast enough to catch up with
the one who was on my right side, and I said,
all right, congressman US congressman said all right, will you
walk together with me? And yes? And I said do
you know so and so? And do you know so
and so? And they said, well, yes I do. And
he said, well, thank you for all the work that
(42:07):
you've done in the great state of Arizona. And she said, well,
thank you for the work you're doing in Congress at
the US level. And I'm thinking this just just just
big check off my bucket list. That's right, that's something
they had connected over this and that they're going to
stand basically side by side and cut ribbon at the
(42:28):
machine that uniting, whether it's communities otherwise, has worked for
friend and I in our marriage as well.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
That's amazing. I think so many of us we often
sort of stay in our own little bubbles, and I'm
so grateful that you could tell us and share with us,
and then hopefully we can all get out there to
these giving machines this year.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
Yeah, there's one hundred and twenty six cities.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
They're everywhere, guys. We got to get there and go
get a chicken. Okay, chicky chicky boom boom. He's out
there doing some good things. And we're so so grateful.
You've sacrificed time and your efforts and your talents and
your energy to do this, and you're so humble about it,
and I'm so grateful that you have done this for
the world.
Speaker 4 (43:12):
We couldn't feel like we're in a better place for ourselves.
Speaker 3 (43:15):
We love God, we love our family, we love our community,
and we love our brothers and sisters that we've been
placed here on this journey to be with and that
responsibility falls on each one of us.
Speaker 4 (43:29):
We have a desire that everyone gets to experience the
true giving machine experience, and there's different levels of that.
We've talked about love that the easy one is swipe
your card, make a pick and watch it drop and
you'll feel some joy. But we want them to experience
in its fullness, which is take some time ahead of time.
(43:50):
All the cards are available in each one of the
cities on their Facebook page or Instagram page. You can
see everything that you could donate. Take some time contemplate
for yourself, being inspired us to what to select. And
then as you go down to the giving machines and
you purchase that item for them, for your brother and sister,
(44:12):
think about them as that card drops, it's going to them,
and then go home and take all your hopes for
that person, that brother or sister with you and pray
to God that he will provide the blessings that you
hope for them to have.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
That is beautiful and amazing, and we will pray that
it goes well for you guys this season, and that
all the machines are safe and sound, and that at
the end of the season they get tucked in bed
for another year in the future. Thank you so much
for talking with us today. And for sharing your hearts
(44:53):
and we couldn't be more grateful. You're doing exactly what
we hope that the ripple effect can do too. We
can all make these small decisions each day to make
the world a better place.
Speaker 3 (45:04):
Thank you, Jenna, Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
Wow, Carl, Stephen and Franz. They're incredible. And come on,
vending machines that give goats and chickens. That's next level generosity.
I really want you guys to experience this, and it's
so much fun and it really brightened our Christmas season.
So go find a Light the World giving machine near you.
You can swipe give and literally change lives. And of
(45:34):
course you got to tell me what you picked. So
if you're out there using those giving machines, come on
let us know. Because you're creating ripples in your community.
Use the hashtag ripple effect and tag me at Jenakim
Jones on social media. I want to hear all about it,
and of course we'll see you next time. On our
next episode, we explore how one woman saw food, waste
(45:57):
and hunger through a completely different lends, and how she
sparked a movement that's reshaping communities across the country. It's
a reminder that big solutions can start with a single meal.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.