Light the World Giving Machines Project Donates to Caritas Manila, UNICEF Philippines, and HERO Foundation in Handover Ceremony

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Light the World Giving Machines project held a donation handover ceremony on March 8, 2023, at Manila Philippines Administration Office. The event was aimed at spreading love, charity, and kindness through the initiative, which allows people to do instant acts of service by donating to the giving machines.

The ceremony started with an opening prayer led by Sister Ruth del Mundo, followed by Elder Choi, First Counselor of the Philippines Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who gave his welcome remarks. The event was also attended by the key players of the partnership, including Rev. Fr. Anton Pascual, Executive Director of Caritas Manila; Ms. Maida Salcedo-Mission, Major Donor Fundraising Officer of UNICEF Philippines; and Major General Victor Bayani, Executive Director of HERO Foundation.

Elder Steven R. Bangerter, President of the Philippines Area Presidency, spoke about the project’s aim to manifest the Savior’s blessings through charitable acts. “Light the world. That’s what this is all about. It is all about the savior, his blessings being manifest through the charitable acts of his brothers and sisters, us, sons, and daughters of God. And we’re grateful to be able to unite with all of you our dear friends in this effort,” he said.

Elder Carlos G. Revillo Jr., Second Counselor of the Philippines Area Presidency, highlighted the alignment between the missions of Caritas, UNICEF, HERO Foundation, and the Church. “As I look at the mission of Caritas, UNICEF, and Hero Foundation, it’s very much aligned to what the church wants to do in terms of what we do as a church and the humanitarian work we do which is really helping to care for those who are in need to help them towards becoming self-reliant,” he said.

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Before proceeding with the donation handover, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed between the beneficiaries and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which signifies their aim to address the needs of their fellowmen. The first check was from the Light the World Giving Machines, and the second check was a donation of 500K from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Beneficiaries of the Light The World Giving Machine project also had the opportunity to express their gratitude towards the partnership. Rev. Fr. Anton Pascual, Executive Director of Caritas Manila expressed his gratitude towards the project when he said “We hope and pray that as you have given so much of your time, talent, and treasure, may we awaken the law of giving. The more you give, the more you shall receive – Thirty, Sixty, One-hundred fold.”

Ms. Maida Salcedo-Mission, Major Donor Fundraising Officer of UNICEF Philippines shared how Light The World campaign helped them shed light on their efforts in helping children who are abused and exploited when she said “one of the things that Light The World campaign helped us to shed light on one of two packages that we saw in Giving Machine was actually to help support our efforts in helping children who are abused and exploited.”

Ms. Camille Cataluna expressed gratitude on behalf of the HERO Foundation when she said “We would like to give heartfelt gratitude. Especially to the Church of Jesus Christ Latter day Saints Philippines. For us in Hero Foundation we wish you would be blessed more to bring more blessings, love, and light to other people’s lives. Saludo po kami sa inyong lahat.”

The beneficiaries, Caritas Manila, UNICEF Philippines, and HERO Foundation, received two checks each during the handover of donations. Elder Bangerter, a General Authority Seventy and Philippines Area President for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, presented the checks to the executive directors of the beneficiaries and concluded with a wonderful message on love and charity following the Savior’s example to love and serve others as he shared about the Law of the Fast, he said "Once a month, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints go without food for about a twenty-four hour period and the money that we would spend to purchase food for those meals is donated to the church and 100% of those donations is used for the purpose of feeding the poor and helping those in need in all kinds of ways.".

The Light the World Giving Machines Handover of Donations event was a successful and meaningful one, reminding everyone of the love and service that we can offer to others. It was a heartwarming gathering that inspired all those who participated to continue spreading the light of Christ through love and service throughout the year.