The nine charities that participated in the 2024 Giving Machines initiative at the University Place mall were recognized at the Orem City Council meeting last week and presented with plaques displaying the donated items they received.

More than 70,000 visitors donated 45,845 items through the Giving Machines during the 2024 holiday season in Orem. The annual initiative is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Light the World campaign.

“We have a fantastic community that has been so generous, and we want to say thank you to them,” Orem Giving Machines Director Mark Seastrand said at the meeting Tuesday night. “We also have some amazing charities that are here locally to do incredible work. We want to recognize them and say thank you to them.”

Each of the nine charities provides a distinct service to individuals in need, with seven benefitting people locally and two providing assistance on a global scale.

Representatives from each charity were in attendance Tuesday, and many expressed their appreciation for being a part of the Giving Machines initiative.

“This is our first year being in the Giving Machine, and, honestly, it’ll have such a huge impact,” Meals on Wheels Executive Director Jimmy Golding said.

Meals on Wheels delivers meals and offers visits to homebound senior citizens in Utah, Summit and Wasatch counties. The charity received donations worth 21,998 meals and visits.

Stephanie Anderson, the senior director of children and family success at United Way of Utah County, which provides educational, medical and financial resources to children and families, accepted 3,620 items worth of donations.

Individuals purchased new baby kits, maternal mental health programs and educational toys, among other things.

“We’re very lucky to be a recipient again this year, and we’ve been able to receive a lot for our community centers,” Anderson said. “We not only believe, but we know, as the research provides, that when you strengthen a family, you strengthen a neighborhood, you strengthen a community and you strengthen other generations.”

Another local charity providing services to children and their families, Kids on the Move, garnered 3,620 total donated items, including money for 1,181 specialized therapy treatments, among other resources. The charity focuses on helping those facing complex challenges such as autism.

Eye Care 4 Kids received 4,695 donated items, including thousands of lenses, while the Alpine House tallied over 900 donations for maternal mental health assistance and housing support.

A pair of local food pantries were also major beneficiaries, with Tabitha’s Way receiving 43,470 total meals and Community Action Services and Food Bank bringing in 320,693 meals.

On the international end, 5,909 items were donated to the American Red Cross through the Giving Machines.

With a new partnership with the Academy for Creating Enterprise, donations through the Giving Machines will provide 3,583 pairs of piglets and 3,232 farm starter kits.

“We’re in 15 developing countries throughout the world,” said ACE Executive Vice President Curtis Beesley. “We teach people how to become self-reliant through entrepreneurial business training, so the pigs and the farming kits that were purchased here from generous people in Orem will increase the value of people’s businesses in these 15 countries, lifting them from poverty to self-reliance.”