Viking Magazine - November 2013 - 17

younger ones, both Kelly and
Kristiansen say. Maybe there's
no one left in the family who
knows how to make rømmegrøt
or flatbread. That's
reason to learn how in a lodge
class, or try recipes through
the popular Cultural Skills
Program. Its Cultural Skills
units, many of which are
recently rewritten and redesigned,
tap into a variety of
other interests, too: knitting,
carving, genealogy and more.
Looking beyond the lodge
and into the community
brought members together at
Gateway to Florida 3-541 in
Jacksonville, where International
Director Marci Larson
is a member.
" We started to do a lot
more things in the community, "
she says, " and that
generated a lot of additional
enthusiasm. " The lodge
invited the public to its
Viking Boat Regatta and
made it a widely celebrated
event. It also offered food,
entertainment and exhibits
at Jacksonville's World of
Nations festival, which drew
on many members' time and
talent. " We had jobs if you
were 95, we had jobs if you
were 5, " Larson says. " We
just got everybody in the
lodge involved. "
Jotunheimen 4-499
in Billings, Mont.,
supplies educational
materials for local
schools, plants trees
in the city, and twice
has donated custom
designed playhouses-a
stabbur and a Viking ship-
to be raffled in a Playhouse
Parade to benefit children's
18 VIKING NOVEMBER 2013
charities. Members sold
tickets, but beyond that
" they contributed a lot, "
says Thora Aldrich, who
belongs to the lodge. " They
helped build the houses,
they did rosemaling, they
did woodcarving, " and
decorated the structures
with traditional craftwork.
Annette Helgelien, a
member of Vestafjell 6-146
in Grand Junction, Colo.,
says her lodge has had two
successful outings to volunteer
at a local food bank.
This means " future years of
volunteering in this capacity
and it gave members a real
feeling of helping others. It
also means community involvement
and name recognition
for Sons of Norway,
benefiting our lodge. "
" Since we launched our
Spotlight on Volunteerism
program, we've seen an uptick
in volunteerism. That's exciting, "
Pederson says. Started
in 2012, the program encourages
lodges to share details of
their volunteerism and recognizes
the lodges with the most
effective projects each year.
Looking to the Future
It's not surprising that volunteerism
has come to play
such a key role in lodge life,
says Heiberg. After all, given
Sons of Norway's origins as a
mutual benefit society in the
1890s, volunteering to help
is " in our DNA. " Through
many forms of service and
fundraising, Sons of Norway's
local lodges gave 500,000
hours of volunteer time and
$1.5 million to their communities
in 2012.
This year, volunteerism,
scholarships, internships and
jobs all became ways that
Sons of Norway is sparking
the interest of its next generation
of members through NorwayConnects,
a website with
companion social networks.
NorwayConnects
is aimed at connecting
20-somethings with career
and life opportunities
that are Norway-related.
Pederson says the respective
ambassadors of the United
States and Norway have
endorsed it, and Norwegian
and North
American
colleges and
universities,
nonprofits and
businesses are
participating and
posting opportunities
on NorwayConnects.
" It's helping
promote these different
organizations
sonsofnorw
Contact Sons of Norway Headquarters
or visit sonsofnorway.
com information on these
programming resources:
→ Mini presentations
→ Idea Bank
→ Cultural Skills Program
→ Sports Medal Program
→ Project Framtid
→ Spotlight on Volunteerism
→ Lending Library
→ Program in a Box
These resources are available
for lodge administration:
→ Viking Resource newsletter
→ Recruitment and retention
newsletters
→ Lodge newsletter content
→ Website templates
→ Lodge forms
→ Leadership guides
so people know that they
are there, because that helps
strengthen the ties and the
bonds between Norway and
the United States, " Pederson
says. Still the focus " is collegeage
students and helping them
and getting them involved and
interested in their roots. "
Young people forming a
relationship to Norway and
to their roots today will be
the ones driving fraternal
programs in the future. And
today's members will be their
inspiration. Thinking ahead to
Sons of Norway's 125th anniversary
in 2020, how does
Heiberg believe the organization
will look?
" I think vibrant, " he says.
" I think energetic. "
Viking Magazine - November 2013

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