Students serve hot chocolate after paying by writing an act of giving they have done. Ohio Union on Thursday at noon. Credit: Melissa Meloui | Lantern Reporter
Students could “pay” for hot chocolate through acts of kindness this past Thursday with a launch party for a charitable vending machine.
Hosted at the Ohio Union from noon to 2 p.m., “The Warmth of Giving” event promoted the Giving Machine’s Columbus launch of its new location, Raphaella Monroy, an associate lead of The PRactice, Ohio State’s student-run public relations firm and a fourth-year in communications, said.
At the event, students wrote “words of kindness” on sticky notes and got hot chocolate in return.
The Giving Machine is a type of vending machine that has a list of items users can purchase to donate to people in need, Colin Wylie, the marketing and communications coordinator for Giving Machine Columbus, said.
“The cool part about it is it lists off all the different items there, and students or anyone in the community can just pick the things that they’re interested in donating,” Wylie said. “It’s a low-stress, low-pressure kind of scenario.”
Monroy said that the machine allows people to donate meals, clothing and hygiene kits.
The Giving Machine launched in Columbus on Friday at 1500 Polaris Parkway, and is open until Dec. 6, Wylie said.
The Giving Machine has partnered with five local and two international charities, including the United Nations Refugee Agency and The Salvation Army, which have sponsored items in the machine. All of the proceeds from the donated items go directly to the charities, Wylie said.
“We’re trying to help college students be able to see the value in charitable giving and that it obviously helps the community, but also helps ourselves,” Wylie said.
Over 200 student-written sticky notes were collected and displayed by the end of the launch event, Monroy said.
Ryanne Eisnaugle, a third-year in strategic communication and lead with The PRactice for the Giving Machine, said that it felt great to participate and see other students coming together to write about what the act of giving means to them.
“I feel like as college students, we’re stereotyped to not want to contribute to giving events because college is expensive, and we have a bunch of different things that we’re obligated to pay for,” Eisnaugle said. “But, being able to see people give in this manner where it’s not related to money, is awesome.”
Tessa Kelly, a third-year in exercise science who participated in the event, said that having a moment to reflect on the ways she gives is beneficial.
“I could definitely see myself using the Giving Machine because it just makes me feel good about myself and what I’m doing to help others,” Kelly said.
Monroy also emphasized that giving isn’t all about the dollar amount.
“It’s just simple acts that we do every day to help others,” Monroy said.
To learn more about the Giving Machine in Columbus, visit its website.
