Denver’s Giving Machines Light the Way Forward
Mayor Johnston to kick off annual Light the World Giving Machine Denver season at 2025 Grand Unwrapping with new digital machines at Cherry Creek North Holiday Market.
As the holiday season approaches, Denver is once again preparing to embrace a tradition that has quietly become one of the city’s most meaningful acts of collective generosity. On Wednesday, Nov. 19, Mayor Mike Johnston is expected to kick off the 2025 Light the World Giving Machine season during the annual Grand Unwrapping at the Cherry Creek North Holiday Market. The event has grown into a tradition for the Metro Denver area, signaling both the start of the holidays and the beginning of an inspiring campaign of community support.
This year will celebrate a notable milestone: the debut of Denver’s first fully-digital Giving Machines. The high-tech update reflects an evolution in philanthropy. It prioritizes accessibility, simplicity and provides a modernized ways for residents to give back.
With a single tap, visitors can contribute directly to organizations that serve individuals and families in need, both across Colorado and around the world.
Seasonal Sharing
Seven nonprofit partners, including five local and two global, will be honored during the mayor’s unveiling. Partners include the African Community Center of Denver (ACC), the Colorado National Guard Foundation, Project C.U.R.E., The Action Center, WeeCycle, CARE and Splash.
Their work addresses a wide range of urgent needs: providing clothing and essential gear for Colorado’s youngest children; delivering food to families experiencing hunger; offering support for newly arrived residents building new lives in the state; assisting Colorado National Guard service members during crises; supplying medicines and equipment to communities facing severe medical shortages; donating livestock for economic mobility abroad; and ensuring access to clean water and sanitation for individuals and communities worldwide.
Collectively, these organizations reflect the depth and diversity of challenges facing communities today. They illustrate why the Giving Machines have been embraced by Denver residents. The initiative transforms abstract global and local issues into tangible acts of generosity. During the holiday season, many individuals look for ways to support members of their communities – Giving Machines make immediate support possible.
Just One Touch
Since the Light the World program first launched in Denver in 2019, residents and visitors have contributed more than $2.5 million to 30 local nonprofits and 10 global partners.
When donors utilize the machines, items like housing support, insulin, hygiene kits, livestock or hot meals can be “purchased” as donations. Every dollar goes directly to the nonprofit, with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints covering all operating costs. It is philanthropy with no fine print.
The unveiling at 2nd Avenue and Fillmore is poised to draw families, holiday visitors and longtime supporters eager to participate in the annual tradition. Set within the backdrop of Cherry Creek North’s Winter Wanderland and North Pole festivities, the Giving Machines offer a grounding and impactful counterbalance to a season often dominated by consumer spending.
The theme of this year’s campaign – Touch Lives with One Touch – offers an invitation worth embracing. With widening needs and ongoing economic strain, efforts like this remind Coloradans that generosity is a form of civic identity.
When the machines begin their run from Nov. 19 through Jan. 4, Denver will once again have the chance to demonstrate what community looks like in action.
