A child stands in front of a “Giving Machine” owned by the Mormon Church and installed in Rockerfeller Center during a media event in this 2022 handout photo. Photo courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

What: CambridgeSide’s Giving Machine
Where: 100 Cambridgeside Place, Cambridge
Owner: New England Development

Malls are normally temples to commerce, but this holiday season one local mall dedicated a storefront to charity by installing a pair of “Giving Machines.”

CambridgeSide mall owner New England Development teamed up with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, to install the vending machine-style devices to collect donations for local restorative justice group Transformational Prison Project, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, Catholic Charities Boston and the International Institute of New England, an immigrant and refugee services organization. The church has been installing the machines across America during holiday seasons since 2017.

The devices look like snack vending machines – albeit bright red, instead of black – with large glass windows and rows of items held in spiral dispensers. But instead of potato chips and candy, they let mall visitors buy clothing, hygiene items, meals, school supplies or even medicine for a specific charity. Items range from $5 to $150, and the machines symbolically dispense cards symbolizing donations into a box underneath.

They Said It:

“The Giving Machines are such a creative and meaningful way to raise the funds needed to care for our 10,000 patients. Providing high quality health care is critical for folks to survive and exit out of homelessness, and we are so grateful to be participating in this inspiring fundraiser.”
— Linda O’Connor, chief development officer, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program