The 2024 Icelandic Roots Fundraiser
Start forming your team, it’s time for our annual fundraiser! Icelandic Roots is pleased to announce our fifth annual event is right around the corner. Formerly known as our Fitness Challenge, we are rebranding it as History Under Our Feet. This eight-week event will run from June 22nd, the Saturday after Iceland’s National Day to August 17th.
Anyone can join—young, old, neighbors, friends, and family. This is open to the public; you do not have to be of Icelandic descent or a member of Icelandic Roots to participate. The cost of each mission is $25 USD. This is our only fundraiser of the year. We use these funds to support Icelandic Roots’ charitable activities, including the Snorri program, Icelandic scholarships, local heritage grants, supporting and hosting cultural and educational events, and much more. There is also a link to donate additional funds to support our charitable activities. To celebrate our ten years of Icelandic Roots, we will hold a random drawing of prizes for ten lucky participants at the end of the challenge.
We are offering those ten people the ability to choose from the following options*: A 3-month membership to Icelandic Roots; a one-year Samkoma membership; a consultation with a genealogist; a session with our president, Sunna Furstenau, on using the database.
Every year we have had a focus for our fundraiser. This year, we explore one of the treasures of Iceland, the sagas. As you progress on your mission, virtual postcards will be emailed to you from 30 different mileposts with a synopsis of one of 23 sagas, locations where the saga occurred as well as nearby places you can visit today in Iceland. The mission starts in southern Iceland at the Keldur Turf House (Njáls saga) then travels clockwise around Iceland finishing at Skriðuklaustur, close to many farms mentioned in Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða in east Iceland for a distance of 775 miles/ 1,247 kilometers.
Using the My Virtual Mission platform, this is a virtual challenge. All your daily activities during the eight weeks can be counted towards your distance traveling around the route. This includes your daily step count, gardening, golf, or any activity you do during your day. You do not need to be an athlete!
You can choose to do the mission as an individual, form your own team, or a new option this year, join the Icelandic Roots team.
To register, go to: https://www.myvirtualmission.com/missions/178867/traveling-the-sagas-of-iceland or email 24challenge@icelandicroots.com to receive the registration link, information on how to form a team or join the Icelandic Roots team, and any other questions you may have.
Help support Icelandic Roots’ mission while you travel Iceland virtually and learn about the History Under Our Feet.
*conditions apply