This morning close to 900 members of the Twin Cities’ Nordic American community gathered in celebration of the privileges of freedom, faith, family & friendship at the 2015 Nordic American Thanksgiving Breakfast.
The event, which was held in Bloomington, MN, not only celebrated these privileges, but also served as a fundraiser for two important charities that serve communities in need throughout the state. In fact, attendees at this year’s breakfast donated nearly $15,000 to Second Harvest Heartland and the Minnesota Military Family Foundation. This is a great result for the charities because the money will be used to help the underserved throughout the state.
In addition to raising funds for the charities, this year’s breakfast also brought together Norwegian Ambassador Kåre Aas, recently retired Honorary Consul General Gary Gandrud and new Honorary Consul General Eivind Heiberg. In fact, to say this morning’s event brought together a distinguished group of people would be an understatement. This year’s VIPs included Honorary Consuls General for the countries of Finland, Iceland and Sweden as well as the Honorary Consul for Denmark. In addition, we welcomed Canada’s Consul General for Minneapolis, Congressman Erik Paulsen, the Adjutant General for the Minnesota National Guard, Sons of Norway’s International President, the CEOs of Destination Bloomington, Catholic United Financial, Degree of Honor, and the Vesterheim Museum.
Thanks to their support, and that of the nearly 900 attendees, both charities are heading into the holiday season with a much needed boost to their fundraising efforts.
If you weren’t able to attend this morning’s event we encourage you to take a moment a learn a little more about this year’s charities and ask you to support them in any way you can.
Second Harvest Heartland is one of the nation’s largest, most efficient and most innovative food banks. It is also a member of Feeding America, a network of more than 200 food banks serving every state in the United States.
Minnesota Military Family Foundation
The Minnesota Military Family Foundation is a community-supported fund founded in November 2004. Contributions are made by people who understand that there are many sacrifices that military families make and want to help soften the extraordinary financial hardships that may occur when a family member is deployed by providing a financial safety net.