Christmas shoppers in North Lakes will soon find a vending machine offering something different from the usual snacks and drinks, with a Giving Machine set to arrive at Westfield North Lakes to help people facing hardship.
Read: North Lakes Food Outlet Continues Supporting Families After Move to Margate
Instead of dispensing products for shoppers to take home, the bright red machine will allow visitors to purchase donations for six Queensland charities. The gifts will fund practical assistance, including meals, hygiene supplies, children’s toys and support for people affected by natural disasters.
The machine is scheduled to operate from Tuesday, 24 November to Monday, 28 December 2026, excluding Christmas Day. It will be positioned opposite Vodafone, between Myer and Big W, giving shoppers an opportunity to contribute while visiting the centre.
Small donations can provide practical help
The Giving Machine works much like a conventional vending machine, but the recipient is someone in need rather than the person making the purchase.
Shoppers choose a charitable gift displayed on the machine and pay using a credit card or mobile payment. Each selection represents an item or service that a participating charity will provide.
Some of the advertised options show how relatively small contributions can help meet everyday needs.
A $10 donation to Foodbank Queensland can provide 20 meals, while $15 can fund a dignity pack through Rosies, which supports people experiencing homelessness, isolation or hardship.
For families dealing with medical treatment, a $50 donation can contribute towards hospital accommodation through Angel Flight. Another option allows shoppers to provide $60 worth of toys through GIVIT.
BlazeAid, which helps rural communities recover after natural disasters, is offering donations such as a $10 steel picket to assist with rebuilding damaged fences.
North Lakes Giving Machine: What to Know
- Where: Westfield North Lakes
- Location: Opposite Vodafone, between Myer and Big W
- Opens: 24 November 2026
- Closes: 28 December 2026
- Closed: Christmas Day
- Donation options: From $5
- Payment: Card or mobile wallet
- Charities: Hope Ventures, Foodbank Queensland, Rosies, Angel Flight, GIVIT and BlazeAid
Donors select an item or service to support. No physical goods are taken home.
Rothwell charity among six organisations supported
One of the participating organisations has a connection to the Moreton Bay community.
Hope Ventures, the charitable community arm of Hope Centre, operates in Rothwell and supports programs intended to strengthen families, help vulnerable people and build community connections.
Through the Giving Machine, shoppers will be able to contribute $5 towards its Community Connections initiative.
Hope Ventures operates from several Queensland locations, including its Moreton centre at 18 Buchanan Street, Rothwell. Its inclusion gives North Lakes residents a way to support an organisation with an existing presence in the surrounding area.
The six participating charities cover different needs, from food insecurity and social isolation to medical travel, disaster recovery and essential household goods.
Photo Credit: Giving Machine Australia
Where the money goes
The Giving Machine initiative is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which covers operating costs so participating charities receive the full amount donated.
According to the organisers, each charity receives an itemised record of purchases and uses the funds to provide the selected goods or services over the following year. Substitutions may occasionally be made when community needs change, but they must remain within the same category.
Unlike an ordinary vending machine, donors do not take the selected goods away. The purchase instead represents a contribution towards assistance delivered by the charity.
The machine accepts card and mobile payments rather than cash. Shoppers can also access a donation receipt through the initiative’s digital receipt process.
A different choice during the Christmas rush
The North Lakes installation will form part of the Giving Machine’s wider Queensland Christmas campaign, which also includes locations on the Sunshine Coast, at Springfield Central, Loganholme and the Gold Coast.
Its arrival will give residents another way to contribute during the Christmas season without organising a separate donation drop-off or purchasing physical goods themselves.
For local families visiting Westfield North Lakes, the machine will offer a chance to turn a small part of their Christmas shopping budget towards helping someone else.
Read: North Lakes Local Heroes Finalists Support Inclusion, Education and Recovery
Further details about the initiative, participating charities and the North Lakes location are available at Giving Machine Australia.
Published 3-November-2026
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