Skip to main content

A Vending Machine With a Heart

 



Yesterday in my Facebook memories I was briefly startled by a post which was nothing but a photograph of a wishbone.


It took a minute, and then I remembered. It was a reminder of a moment County Executive Calvin Ball’s speech last year at the swearing in ceremony for his second term.

What I wasn’t expecting was a small and deeply human story about a wishbone.

Yes, a turkey wishbone. Dr. Ball related how his late father would save the wishbone so that they could make a wish together. His voice filled with emotion, Ball recalled the moment in adulthood when he asked his father what he had been wishing for all those years. 

“I was wishing for you to get your wish.”

This sentiment - - to wish that someone else could get their wish - - was, to me, the biggest and most universal challenge of the evening. Dr. Ball took that moment to invite us to be that person who can want and work for things that won’t necessarily bring us personal honors or rewards. Honestly, that’s harder than many things we do in life. It’s as big as letting go of control, as simple as shifting the focus away from ourselves, yet as deep as a father’s love for his son.

In that moment last night I thought of my first Christmas in Howard County after marrying my now-husband. I was at the Mall with my daughter and we put Christmas letters to Santa in a mailbox put out for that purpose. Mine said, “thank you for everything. Please give someone else their wish.”- - “Small World” Village Green/Town², December 6, 2023

I’ve been thinking a lot about that letter to Santa - - probably over twenty years ago now - - as I’ve been seeing photographs of something new at the Mall this holiday season.

It’s a Giving Machine. 

A Light the World Giving Machine is coming to Columbia, Maryland, for the first time ever!

The Giving Machine is the vending machine with a heart. Instead of snacks or soda, it's stacked with 30 opportunities to give to a stranger in need through seven local and global nonprofit organizations.

Give groceries to someone here in Maryland, or give a goat to someone across the world. Choose a donation card, change a life.

Visit the Columbia Giving Machine at The Mall in Columbia:  December 6-17 to GIVE where you live this holiday season. - - Light the World Giving Machine Facebook event page

Here’s how it works, from Randall Newsome of WMAR TV. Click link here. 

I noticed that one of the people interviewed for the story says, “People on both sides of the glass are benefiting.”

How so? If you put your money in and purchase goods or services for someone else, how does that benefit you?

It’s just like the story of Dr. Ball and his dad. As you stand in front of a machine in the Mall, during the busy holiday season, you are making a choice which resonates far beyond where you are standing. In essence, you are saying with your actions:

I was wishing for you to get your wish.

Those kinds of wishes, the kind that are connected not only to intention but to action, change us for the good. They remind us of why we are grateful for what we have and why it matters so much for us to share.  This is the quiet moment of joy when we can honestly say:

Thank you for everything. Please give someone else their wish.

The Light the World Giving Machines are at the Mall from December 6 - 17. For as little as ten dollars you can give someone else their wish.










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more