Fund Raising: Betel Organizers Say Project Moving Forward

     Fund raising for a new multi-million dollar housing and cultural centre on Gimli's harbourfront is well on its way to meeting its mark. Sharon Clarke, director for development for the United Icelandic appeal, says that $900,000 of the $1.5 million target has been met since the fund raising began in earnest in June 1999.

     That money will fund the entire main floor of the five-story building, which is the cultural component of the project. The first level will be home to the New Iceland Heritage Museum, the Visitor Centre as well as headquarters for a number of organizations like the Icelandic Festival (Íslindingadagurinn) of Manitoba, the Icelandic National League of North America and the Consul General of Iceland.

     Thanks to some extremely generous benefactors, she said, the fund raising effort has been boosted to past the halfway marker. "We really got a jump start from the Johnson family, who donated $150,000," she said, adding corporate participation has also been good with the Gimli Credit Union, recently donating $15,000 for the purchase of a telescope. Clarke said that people shouldn't feel intimidated by the hefty donations that have been made so far. Every little bit counts and tax receipts are issued for donations of even the smallest amount, she said.

     Clarke said one thing she thinks will hold wide appeal is something called "The Book of Life". This genealogical tool will be housed at the Betel Waterfront Centre and is an extensive database that will hold thousands of two-page interviews on persons, their history and backgrounds. Anybody donating $250 will automatically be entitled to a placement in the book. This family history tool will be linked to Hofsós, the Emigration Museum in Iceland, she said. Clarke also stressed that the project is not a Gimli project per se. It's an Icelandic cultural epicentre for North America.

     A number of town hall meetings are slated for March through May in Riverton, Lundar, Gimli and Arborg to discuss the project. One is also set for Edmonton, Alberta, where there is a large Icelandic-Canadian base and chapter of the Icelandic National League. All chapters of the Icelandic National League will be in Gimli at the end of April to talk about the appeal, the waterfront centre and see first-hand its progress. By that time, they may get their first real glimpse of the Johnson family Hall, the fifth floor, glassed-in, meeting and banquet centre. "It will be the best view in Gimli on the harbour", Clarke said, adding there are a lot of naming opportunities still available in the building. "It's beautiful, absolutely beautiful." The Lady of the Lake Theatre was so-named in honour of the Sigurdson family for their $85,000 donation.

     Larry Kristjanson, a vice president of the Betel Heritage Foundation and the New Iceland Heritage Museum, said construction is proceeding on schedule and the facility should be set to open this summer. If there is any delay, the living units will get priority, he added. The entire project is pegged at about $10 million. About $6 million is expected to be raised through mortgages and the sale of life leases.

     Ernest Stefanson, president of the Heritage Foundation, said the 56 living units in the Waterfront Centre were snatched up so quickly that a number of additional units would have been built had such an overwhelming response been anticipated.

For further information, contact:     Phone/Fax: 204-837-4031	Sharon Clarke Director of Development United Icelandic Appeal
	P.O. Box 42093 Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada    R3J 3X7