Correios, a Brazilian mailing company, launched eight exclusive stamps for participants of the 5^th South American Pathfinder Camporee recently held in Barretos, Sao Paulo. The series commemorates the 60^th anniversary of the first Pathfinder Club in Brazil, established in 1959.

Businessman Samuel de Paula, with his sister and business partner Priscila Silvana de Paula, initiated the project, in association with the government. “This is memorable, because it is the first time the Pathfinders have an exclusive stamp for them, done with a unique motivation: to celebrate and highlight the Pathfinders’ name,” Samuel shared.

For this to become a reality, the process went through two stages. First, the idea had to  satisfy the Correios’ company criteria for turning an idea into a stamp. After the proposal was approved, and because this is an exclusive initiative, it was necessary to guarantee the purchase of the print run. The second stage included creating and choosing images to be used on the stamps, incorporating the Camporee’s official logo into the design.

“We wanted a remarkable and attractive result, something that would draw the Pathfinder’s attention,” Samuel  said.

Collectible

According to Samuel, this is the beginning of an initiative that will create 75 stamps in the following four years. The proposal is to launch several celebration versions of different projects and ministries of the Church, such as Breaking the Silence, Caleb Mission Project, A Life for a Life, Adventurers and Family Ministries. They can then be purchased for Church departments’ correspondence, and for official Church campaigns, using the mail as “the Word carrier.” Samuel also suggested that these stamps can be used to send follow-up correspondence to contacts acquired through these large events.

This project could also attract new collectors with stamps that tell the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Brazil. For that reason, Samuel believes that a significant part of each series will be purchased by personal collectors.

“This is not only for collectors. It is for circulation. This will highlight not only the South American Camporee, but also the importance of the Pathfinders in Brazil, because not every institution receives such a recognition,” said Udolcy Zukowski, Pathfinder director for eight South American countries.

In total, Correias produced 18 thousand units to be sold at the South American Pathfinder Camporee, held January 8-20, 2019. The stamps are now available at pwsprojetos.com.br. Every unit can be purchased by R$ 6,50.