Nation-Wide Assemblies and Workshops for Students and Adults

You’ve come to the right place. Bucketfillers For Life is your only source for the original anti-bullying, bucketfilling-based character education program for youth, and life-changing workshops for adults as developed by Merrill Lundgren, The Bucket Man.

Merrill Lundgren "The Bucket Man"

Merrill Lundgren "The Bucket Man"

Our program is available nation-wide via six Regional Training Centers. Contact your nearest training center today. You’ll be glad you did!

What is a Bucketfiller?

We all carry an invisible bucket. This bucket contains our feelings. When our bucket is full, we feel great; when it’s empty, we feel empty. A bucketfiller is someone who says or does nice things for other people. By doing this, they are filling other people’s buckets and filling their own bucket at the same time. On the other hand, a bucketdipper says or does things to cause other people to feel bad. This simple but profound philosophy applies to every aspect of life.

Please note that we did not create the Dipper and Bucket metaphor, although we believe The Bucket Man was the first person to apply this powerful philosophy to individual school and classroom presentations in 1993. In the 1960’s, Dr. Donald O. Clifton (1924-2003), who would later go on to co-author the #1 New York Times bestseller How Full Is Your Bucket? and be named the Father of Strengths Psychology, first created the “Dipper and Bucket” metaphor that has now been passed along for decades.

"Our bucketfilling assemblies and workshops have been some of the most impressionistic initiatives we have undertaken! Our students have learned how to articulate and share their feelings with others using positive communication, they know how they can make a difference in someone’s life every day with their words or actions, and they have openly shared what they’ve learned with their families and loved ones! We have received touching compliments and letters of thanks from parents about the “amazing conversations that occurred between their children following these assemblies”. Coupled with a positive school-wide behavior plan that we implemented last year, Bucketfilling has now become part of our school culture. We will continue to host workshops each year to maintain this positive energy in our school community."

LouAnne Pisha, Principal
Crissman Elementary School
Utica School District
Shelby Township, MI
“You showed me things that I didn’t see before. Three things that I will do to keep this going are write a letter to everyone in my family, try to be nicer and not yell as much. Thank you for helping me understand things I never understood before.”

Amber, a Student
"What a wonderful and heart filled program. The Bucketfillers For Life program is such an easy program to implement, but it’s impact in just these two days has been phenomenal...
I was so touched at the parent assembly. So many parents thanked me on the way out for hosting this program and how glad they were that they took time out of their evening to attend. Thank you Bucketfillers For Life!"


Kathleen Vafadari, Principal
Immaculate Heart of Mary School, Grand Rapids, MI