“During a disaster, 5-gallon buckets filled with much-needed cleaning supplies are like gold to someone who just survived a natural disaster,” Marshall Gonzales, Southwestern Union Conference and Texas Conference Adventist Community Services (ACS) director, shares. “When a disaster strikes, we distribute the filled buckets, what we call clean-up buckets, by the thousands, so it is imperative to have clean-up buckets on hand.

Supplies to fill 5,000 buckets were delivered to the Pathfinder International Camporee ACS station in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. They include household cleaner; dishwashing soap; scrubber sponges; scrub brushes; cleaning towels; dust masks; kitchen, disposable, and work gloves; trash bags; laundry detergent; paper towels; disinfectant wipes; a clothesline; clothespins; and insect repellant spray.

During the camporee, Pathfinders have the opportunity to fill those buckets and earn the “Serving Communities” Pathfinder honor at the same time. “The Pathfinder clubs have been amazing,” shares Julie Gonzales, Southwestern Union and Texas Conference ACS associate director. “Many, knowing our deadline, have come back repeatedly. The Alvarado Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church Pathfinder club from Alvarado, Texas, spent three hours filling buckets.”

“We really appreciate the Pathfinder support for this great endeavor, as well as the ACS volunteers here from Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Texas, and Washington,” Sung Kwon, North American Division ACS executive director states. “We could not achieve this goal without everyone’s generosity.”

The Arkansas-Louisiana, Iowa-Missouri, and Greater New York conferences of the Seventh-day Adventist Church will take the clean-up buckets back home with them to have on hand to distribute when needed. “These conferences have gone through disaster situations — they will really appreciate these clean-up buckets the Pathfinders are filling,” Kwon adds.

As of Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019, more than 2,500 buckets had been filled.

If you know a Pathfinder Club at Oshkosh, encourage them to stop by the ACS station way in the back behind the hangers (look for the ACS truck) and fill a bucket or two. With everyone’s help, the goal will be reached. And while there, pray for the people who will receive the buckets as it will be a challenging time for them. The clean-up bucket may just be the encouragement they need to persevere. 

— Tamara Michalenko Terry is the Texas Conference associate communication director.

This article was originally published on the North American Division’s news site