Auberle Partners With Giving Machines Program

Devices comes to outlet mall in Washington County

By Yousuf Lachhab Ibrahim
The Tube City Almanac
December 09, 2025
Posted in: State & Region

(Submitted photo)

Holiday shoppers at a local outlet mall will get a chance to buy gifts for local families in need thanks to a partnership between McKeesport-based Auberle and the national Giving Machines initiative.

On Wednesday, two “vending machines” will be placed at Tanger Outlets near Washington, Pa., where shoppers can make a donation to purchase items such as clothes, diapers, menstrual kits and other necessary items. 

Items are not actually dispensed by the machines; instead, a donation of the item is made to the charity.

In 2024, Giving Machines raised $16.4 million and 490,000 items were donated.

Other local non-profits partnering with Giving Machines include The Brashear Association, Catholic Charities, Jewish Family & Community Services and South Hills Interfaith Ministries.

The machines will remain in place through Jan. 4.

Giving Machines is a program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who have put the donations in 126 cities on six continents. The machines accept cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay for donations.

Auberle also will be at Tanger Outlets from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 13 with an ornament crafting station, Plinko game, and self-care information.

“That's the best way that someone, in particular from this area, could honor Auberle,” said Darla Poole, chief executive officer of Auberle. “Go out on that Saturday and interact with us and participate in some of those activities, and we'll talk more about the Auberle programs and how we can help people right here in the Mon Valley area.”

Collaborating with organizations from other faiths is a priority for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, said Joanna Taylor, who is also the assistant director of the Pittsburgh Coordinating Council. 

The church has about 54,000 adherents in Pennsylvania and a temple in Cranberry Twp., which was dedicated last year. There are also worship sites in Pittsburgh’s Oakland and West End neighborhoods, Plum Borough and Franklin Park.

The Giving Machines initiative is interfaith and non-sectarian, Taylor said.

“There's been a much bigger push to really connect with communities,” she said. “Regardless of denomination or beliefs or the people who are atheist or agnostic, those are all part of our community and those are now God’s children in our eyes.”

According to the Church of Jesus Christ, the Giving Machine initiative raised $16.4 million in donations in 2024 from 860,000 people. Among the items purchased were 2 million meals and 420,000 vaccines.

Taylor said many of the groups partnering with Giving Machines are faith-based, but not all of them.

“There's not any type of prerequisite or anything that would bar a charity from being part of this,” she said. “They have to meet certain requirements just as a nonprofit. We want to make sure that the charities are actually doing what they say they'll do, and that they've been vetted and that they're upstanding organizations.”

Yousuf Lachhab Ibrahim is a freelance writer from Pittsburgh and a Penn State University graduate. He won a Golden Quill award for his work at the Penn State Greater Allegheny Gazette.

Originally published December 09, 2025.

In other news:
"W.O. Adds New Two New…" ||