Hello Willowdale family,
This week, we will miss some of our pathfinders who are leaving for Camporee in Wyoming, United States. Everyone is excited and looking forward to seeing and making new friends. While we miss them, we will continue to pray for them. Not only will they be having fun at Camporee, but they will also be offering more than 10,000 hours of volunteer service to the Gillette Community.
It was interesting to read the article written by Christelle Agboka on July 29, 2024, explaining that the Pathfinders will have four shifts of more than 150 Pathfinders who will clean all 7,700 tombstones and 1,200 veterans’ crosses at Gillette’s Mount Pisgah Cemetery over just two days—a venture that would take an entire summer and cost up to $45,000 if fully staffed.
In 2021, the cemetery board authorized the construction of a multi-purpose building overlooking Mount Pisgah’s 60 acres of rolling hills, trees, and gardens. Today, it is a popular venue for weddings, summer concerts, family reunions, nature walks, and funerals. The cemetery is one of 45 project sites Pathfinders will be bused to from Tuesday, August 6, to Thursday, August 8. “With service at the core of Pathfinders’ Christian values, they will demonstrate the love of Christ by giving over 10,000 hours of Pathfinder power to custom-designed projects in the Gillette community,” said Cindi Young, the camporee’s community service coordinator.
These projects will primarily focus on veterans, senior citizens, city beautification, and food distribution. Here is a snapshot of how Pathfinder volunteers will impact Gillette. Pathfinders will assemble hundreds of care packages for distribution to Wyoming’s sole veterans’ home in Buffalo, Wyoming. The Veterans’ Council is proud and grateful that Pathfinders are traveling more than an hour away to neighboring Johnson County to distribute these packages and spend time with the veterans there. Organizer Denton Knapp, retired Colonel, said, “This event ensures that veterans who may feel isolated or alone know they are cared about, honored, and remembered.”
Several projects will foster inter-generational connections and knowledge exchange between Pathfinders and seniors. For example, Pathfinders will quilt, play bingo, learn to crochet, and paint rocks alongside seniors at the Campbell County Senior Center.
At Primrose Retirement Community of Gillette, Pathfinders will wash resident garages, host a car wash, and help run the “PrimLympics,” a modified Olympics for residents. Angie Geis, Primrose sales director, cited the Paris 2024 Olympics as the PrimLympics’ inspiration since “much like the camporee, it brings together people from all over the world.” Geis added, “We look forward to getting to know these young people while having fun!”
Pathfinders will tackle food insecurity in Gillette through projects, including a food drive for the Gillette Council of Community Services. On the first two days, they will distribute information and donation envelopes for the drive among seven subdivisions. On the third and fourth day, they will collect donations at drop-off locations, transport them to the council’s food pantry, and assist with sorting and organizing. The pantry relies on external support, including food drives, to distribute roughly 4,212 food parcels, estimated to cover 91,124 meals monthly. Pathfinders will also assist the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) drive-through food distribution project. On Wednesday morning, August 7, they will unload a humanitarian food truck containing 18,000 pounds of food, sort and box the food, and load boxes into vehicles in the afternoon.
Pathfinders will beautify Gillette parks, roadways, and educational and sports facilities. Projects include painting, staining, weeding, mulching, planting, and trash pickup. Litter pickup on roads leading to the Campbell County Landfill is among the most appreciated projects. Young added this initiative due to high demand. “Wind and trash are a constant challenge for this community,” she said. In August, 160 Pathfinders will tackle the “litter loop,” clearing away trash from the looping road that goes to and from the landfill. Finally, Pathfinders will paint a shipping container behind Wyoming Work Warehouse along a new pathway connecting Gillette College to Dalbey Park. “We appreciate any group wanting to serve our community. Thank you for the good you do and the leadership principles you teach through service,” said owner Tony Klamm.
Other Projects
Other projects include restoring a 1937 caboose and Burlington Route boxcar for the Campbell County Rockpile Museum. Additional initiatives outside the camporee’s official service projects provide significant community benefits. For example, 166 participants will attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the most backpacks stuffed with school supplies in an hour, and a portion of the backpacks will be distributed locally. Pathfinders will also help the North American Division’s Adventist Community Services assemble hygiene kits for local non-profits on-site at the Cam-Plex.
Finally, Pathfinders will paint a shipping container behind Wyoming Work Warehouse along a new pathway connecting Gillette College to Dalbey Park. “We appreciate any group wanting to serve our community. Thank you for the good you do and the leadership principles you teach through service,” said owner Tony Klamm.
May God bless and keep our Pathfinders safe as they volunteer to work for the Lord and others.
Happy Sabbath!
Pastor Evadne Henry