Revitalizing Kindness: An Audio Story on How a Vintage Vending Machine is Fueling Community Giving
Audio + Video
Jul 14, 2025
Revitalizing Kindness: How an Antique Vending Machine is Helping a Community Give Back
Tucked inside The Studio boutique in downtown Laconia is a piece of the past being used to build a better future. An antique vending machine, once forgotten, has been transformed into something far more meaningful — a donation machine designed to help give back to the local community.
The machine, now a permanent fixture of The Studio’s mission-driven space, invites customers to contribute to local nonprofits. With each donation, customers receive a small token — a “matchbook” style card — that doubles as a discount for store purchases. At the end of each month, owners Melissa McCarthy and Jayson Twombly match the funds raised and donate the total to a rotating local cause.
So far, the machine has raised funds for organizations like New Beginnings, a nonprofit supporting survivors of sexual and domestic violence, and Stand Up Sachems, a Laconia High School initiative focused on combating substance misuse and bullying. What began as a creative idea to repurpose an old machine has grown into a consistent, community-centered tradition of giving.
For this project, I captured both audio interviews and photographs to bring this story to life — highlighting the voices behind the machine, the mission behind the work, and the impact it's having right here in Laconia.
Listen to the audio story to hear directly from Melissa, Jayson, and others about how a small act of creativity is making a difference.
View the photos to see this unique piece of history — and generosity — in action.
Owners of The Studio boutique in downtown Laconia install an old fashioned vending machine in their business to promote donations for local charities. With every 50 cent donation, a small "matchbook" size paper is given out which provides a discount for store goods. At the end of each month The Studio "matches" the donation from the machine and provides a check to the charity.
In honor of National Anti-Bullying month in October, the vending machine raised money for Stand Up Sachems, an organization at Laconia High School that works within the school to stand up against substance misuse and bullying. The organization is a branch of the community non-profit Stand Up Laconia.
In addition to the vending machine donations, owners of the store Melissa McCarthy and Jayson Twombly have installed a Swear Jar that raises money for the charity of the month. The inspiration behind the "Swear Jar" stemmed from the sock collection at the store, which often have profanities on them that customers comment on. McCarthy and Twombly stated that this jar has been the source of many laughs and has brought in a signifiant amount of additional donations during October.
Stand Up Sachems is run by Jessica Conrad, a drug and alcohol counselor that has been working in the school as part of a federal grant providing funding for child protective services staff in the school districts. Her office, located on the second floor of Laconia High School in the guidance suite, is used as a safe place for students to share their stories of addiction and bullying.
The beneficiaries of the donations from The Studio recently conducted a campaign in conjunction with the anti-bullying campaign that was in support of Red Ribbon week, which is a national week to raise awareness of the dangers of substance misuse. The winning posters will be featured around the school in the coming weeks.
Using the funds raised from The Studio, Stand Up Sachems aims to launch a new anti-bullying campaign in the coming months that will continue to raise awareness on mental health and bullying. The shirt pictured above was created as part of last years initiative to curb bullying in the local schools.
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