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sonsofnorway.

com VIKING AUGUST 2013 29


F
or the past 10 years, Meredith
Johansson and Monica
Carlsen, members of Loyal
Lodge 3-252 in St. James, N.Y., have
teamed up to work with their lodges
young people.
Monica and I decided to form a
Little Vikings group that would meet
once a month and educate kids on
Norwegian culture and heritage. It was
a great way to keep the kids involved
in Sons of Norway, Johansson says.
As the Little Vikings began to age,
the duo was inspired to spearhead
another group, called Viking B.Y.T.E.S.
(Bright Young Techies Exploring
Science), to meet the interests of older
kids. The group gathers once a week
and works together to program a Lego
robot. Viking B.Y.T.E.S. named their
temperamental robot Loki after the
Norwegian god of mischief. And though
programming Loki has been a challenge
at times, the group has succeeded for
the fourth year in a row to make it past
roughly 35 other teams and advance
to the New York area Lego Robotics
Champion Tournament.
The tournament keeps kids
motivated and interested in
Norwegian culture and their heritage.
Viking B.Y.T.E.S. uses Norwegian
themes for their robot and for the
Member Matters
Youth Leadership Tips
Close-Knit Crew
What keeps older kids involved in Sons of Norway? Two successful youth
leaders share their secret. BY AMANDA LEPINSKI
Monica Carlsen and
Meredith Johansson
share suggestions for
working with kids.
Have at least two
leaders to share idea-
generating and workload.
Pay attention to pop
culture and nd ways to
bring it into programs.
Interactive quizzes
are a good way to get
kids interested in Norwe-
gian news, culture and
current events.
Take eld trips to a
museum or theater after
studying Norwegian art
or drama.
Create projects based
on Nordic topics, such as
the Scandinavian Hydro-
gen Highway Partnership
or a royal family tree.
Viking B.Y.T.E.S. (Bright Young Techies Exploring
Science) from Loyal Lodge 3-525 was fomed to
meet the interests of older youth.
30 VIKING AUGUST 2013 sonsofnorway.com
S
ometimes the youngest hearts
can make the biggest difference.
Sarissa Miller, a 9-year-old
from Fedrelandet 2-23 in Petersburg,
Alaska, learned about the clean water
crisis in Ethiopia, and she wanted to
help. When I heard about all these
people around the world who didnt
have clean water, I felt spoiled and
that life wasnt equal for everyone,
Miller says. That sense of inequality
prompted her to ask her grandmother,
a lodge ofcer, if she could set up a
donation table at the upcoming lutesk
dinner this past February. After getting
clearance from grandma, Miller and
her friend printed her information,
brochures, pictures and donation forms
to decorate the table they stationed at
the lodge entrance.
As members arrived, Miller and her
friend greeted them and handed out
handmade Valentines to anyone who
donated to their clean water project.
Lodge president Sally Norheim Dwyer
says she was impressed with how
thorough and professional Miller was.
She came up with me at dinner and
spoke about why she was there that
night and how important Water for
Ethiopia was to her, Dwyer says. The
response from the crowd was great; she
met and exceeded her goal that night!
Lodge members donated $650
toward Millers fund, which has more
than doubled since that evening.
When I raised all this money for
Ethiopia, I felt grateful, joyful and very,
very, very happy, Miller says. I hope
all of the people in Ethiopia will one
day have a life where clean water is
easy to get.
Global Outreach
Members open their hearts and hands to help people in need around the world. BY AMANDA LEPINSKI
ve-minute skits that are part of the
competition each year. Inspired by
an elderly neighbor who was having
trouble getting to her mailbox, the
kids created a skit about Norwegian
nisse and how they could help a
farmer reach his mailbox. The kids
even sewed their own red eece hats,
Carlsen says. Its inspiring that our
kids wanted to stay together and bond
through their culture by joining Viking
B.Y.T.E.S. They get to learn about
Norwegian culture, team work and
communication, says Carlsen.
Other science-related projects with
Nordic themes have included the
Scandinavian Hydrogen Highway
Partnership, and nutrition and food
safety in a mock Norwegian game
show format.
Johansson and Carlsen agree that
the key to their success has been
lodge support through fundraising,
collaborating as leaders, and keeping
the kids excited about Norwegian
culture through activities, eld trips,
skits and interactive programs. They
predict that the close-knit group
of kids will stay active in Sons of
Norway, due to the friendships
formed and the Norwegian culture
experienced in the group.
Its inspiring that our kids wanted to stay together
and bond through their culture by joining Viking
B.Y.T.E.S. They get to learn about Norwegian culture,
team work and communication. Monica Carlsen
Member Matters
Sarissa Miller, 9,
raised funds for clean
water in Ethiopia.
Recycling for a New Cause
Clean water in impoverished countries
isnt the only problem that needs a
solution. In Thailand there is a need
for aluminum to make prosthetic
limbs. Aluminum rings from tops
of beverage cans are collected and
recycled into prosthetic limbs, or
exchanged for money that is sent to
Thailands Prosthesis Foundation of
H.R.H. The Princess Mother. The
cause is so well known that it has
gained attention in Norway, Sweden
and Denmark. The Sons of Norway
District 8 was called to help The
Order of St. John collect aluminum for
Thailand in 2007.
Carl Johan Holm, a member from
District 8, explains that throughout
the past six years, members have
reached out to their nonmember
family and friends to help collecta
task that has become a community
effort. In January, Sons of Norway
contributed to the delegation that
brought in 153,000 Danish kroner
(roughly $26,600), the amount for
recycling about 12 tons of aluminum
rings since 2009, Holm says.
In partnership with other
Scandinavian organizations, Holm
estimates that Sons of Norway has
contributed roughly 23 percent of the
total collected since 2007 in Norway.
I think its a human habit to feel
proud in doing, and helping other
human beings, Holm says. We are
born to be here to help each other
get through life. If a lot more people
realize and understand that, we will
have a much better world to live in.
Lodges have received photos from
prosthetic limb recipients in Thailand,
Holms says. That acknowledgment
has made their efforts worthwhile,
and continues to bring people together
within Sons of Norway.
The Fabric of Friendship
When Sharon Bruce, the vice president
of Solglyt 4-143 in Edmonton, Alberta,
learned that Canadian nonprot
organization Youth Empowerment
Services (YES) needed warm blankets
for the at-risk youth they take in
each night, she called upon her lodge
for help. Sharon says it wasnt hard
to gain volunteers to help sew, cut,
prepare or donate fabric to make
quilts. Everyone thinks this is a
very worthwhile cause, Bruce says.
Women come to my house once a
month for an afternoon. We have
coffee, get to know each other and
make quilts. Bruce stresses that
anyone is welcome to help, no matter
their quilting skills. And they do.
I have members coming to my
house to help with the quilts who I
didnt even know belonged to our
lodge because our other programs
didnt interest them, Bruce says. It
pleases her that new friendships have
formed among the lodge members,
and some of the quilters who normally
dont attend lodge events have started
attending. The cause is heartwarming,
Bruce says, not only because kids
need the warm quilts, but because it
also strengthens the bonds between
her lodge members. YES has already
received eight quilts from Sons of
Norway quilters who hope to complete
20 more by the end of this year.
Whether a lodge donates money for
clean water, raises funds by recycling
or meets monthly to quilt, volunteering
enriches the lives of lodge
members and strengthens
their participation in Sons
of Norway.
Top: Members in Dictrict 8 have collected the
equivalent of 12 tons of aluminum rings for recy-
cling into prosthetic limbs. Lower: In addition to
helping the community, quilting can strengthen
bonds between lodge members.
sonsofnorway.com VIKING AUGUST 2013 31

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