When Darin Edmonds talks about the Pathfinders coming to town, he can’t stop smiling. He is proud that, as former chair of the Campbell County Public Land Board (2020-2023), he signed the contract designating Gillette, Wyoming, as the site of the 2024 “Believe the Promise” International Pathfinder Camporee, running from August 5-11.

Edmonds is especially excited to share a landmark project he pitched for the camporee’s service component in his other role as the district superintendent of the Campbell County Cemetery District. Four shifts of more than 150 Pathfinders 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, and nature walks, in addition to funerals. “Our cemetery is the crown jewel of this community, and we’re very,very proud of it,” said Edmonds.

The cemetery is one of 45 project sites Pathfinders will be bused to from Tuesday, August 6, to Friday, August 9. “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. “We are thankful to Gillette for welcoming us and want to show our gratitude in ways that will help the community,” added Young. Here is a snapshot of how Pathfinder volunteers will impact Gillette.

Veterans

Eighteen percent of those buried in Mount Pisgah are veterans, with the cemetery cleanup project reflecting the value Gillette places on its veterans and service members. Pathfinders will also work with veterans to prepare food, serve, and clean up at a pancake breakfast honoring all Campbell County veterans.

Additionally, 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.”

Senior Citizens

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!”

Food Distribution

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.

“We look forward to serving alongside the Pathfinders to provide food relief to this great community,” said Angi Klamm, the LDS Church’s Gillette stake communications director. She noted that any surplus would go to the Gillette College Food Pantry and others.

Beautification

Pathfinders will beautify Gillette parks, roadways, and educational and sports facilities. Projects include painting, staining, weeding, mulching, planting, and trash pickup. Among the most appreciated projects is litter pickup on roads leading to the Campbell County Landfill. 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. Furthermore, 300 Pathfinders will clean up the land adjacent to the landfill, an add-on project requested by the community in May.

Heather Rodriguez, an artist and museum educator, will oversee a paint-by-numbers mural at the fire department. The mural, three years in the making, will “honor Gillette and its rich history.” Professionally done, it would have cost the city $25,000, but thanks to volunteers and $3,500 in donations, it is fully funded. Rodriguez, a Christian, was also happy to share that she had “bathed [the mural] in prayer” and written “to God be the glory” under the sky portion of the design.

Elsewhere, cleanup and landscaping activities at Meadowlark Elementary and Westwood High will save the school district $10,000. Volunteers staining the footbridge, cleaning the shoreline, and replacing playground sand at the beloved Dalbey Memorial Park will save the city $25,000 in labor, $17,500 in equipment, and six weeks of work for their two- or three-man crew.

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. A few additional initiatives fall outside the camporee’s official service projects yet also provide significant community benefits. For example, 166 participants will attempt to set a Guinness World Record for 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.

“It is evident that Pathfinders put a high value on doing service at the international camporee,” Young said. She noted that every service project filled up quickly, leading to “a growing wait list with literally thousands wanting to serve” and a standby line at the bus station.

“At camporee, they experience the value of doing something for a community they are not connected to and will not personally benefit from. That is the true gift of serving.”

“The joy Pathfinders will experience in serving at this level will inspire them to continue giving back in the future,” Young concluded.

Click here for more info on camporee community service opportunities and here for general information on the camporee.