DETROIT – Zaman International is one of five Detroit-area nonprofit organizations featured in the Giving Machines in downtown Detroit.

The Giving Machines, sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints work as “reverse vending machines,” allowing users to give rather than receive and items can be donated to people worldwide through local and global charities. Items range in price from $5 to $250 and can include clothing, hygiene items, meals, educational supplies, livestock, emergency shelters, and more.

This is the first time the Giving Machines have appeared in Michigan and will benefit the Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, Zaman International, Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County, Focus: HOPE, and the Pope Francis Center.

During the 2023 holiday season, approximately 600,000 people visited Giving Machines in Australia, Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, and the U.S. resulting in $10.4 million in donations that helped provide more than 2 million meals to the hungry, 11,000 backpacks or boxes of school supplies, 17,000 goats, 125,000 chickens, 2,100 beehives, 1,500 pigs and 1,400 sheep to provide families with long-term nutrition and income potential. Since launching in 2017, the Giving Machines have generated over $32 million in donations globally.

“We are called to care for those in need and to be a light to the world,” Jeff Day, a stake president in metro Detroit for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said. “We strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ by loving others as He loves each of us. We’re excited to come together with diverse faith communities to demonstrate this love.”

The five items available for “purchase” to support Zaman range in cost from $15 to $100 and go towards the following:

• $15 Halal Meat for a Family – give a family in need halal chicken or beef for culturally appropriate meals
• $25 ESL Instruction – provide increased understanding with one hour of ESL literacy instruction
• $50 Winter Coats for a Family – provide coats for a single mother and two children
• $75 Therapy for a Single Mom – provide a private session for a single mom with a licensed therapist
• $100 Refugee Housewarming Kit – supply household essentials for a refugee family to make a new home in Michigan

Zaman provides basic necessities as well as education, vocational training, and onsite employment to marginalized women facing extreme poverty. Many of the women are typically trying to support their families on about $1,000 a month, impacted by divorce, abuse, mental illness, abandonment and other challenges, identify as Middle Eastern or North African, and/or are refugees.

“Every child has the right to dream, and every mother has the right to hope,” Najah Bazzy, Zaman CEO and Founder, said. “Our work is to build a world where those dreams are not stolen by poverty.”

Donations can be made at the Giving Machines in Campus Martius in Downtown Detroit through Dec. 8 and can also be made at www.lighttheworld.org/give and 100 percent of all donations go directly to the charity selected.