Around noon Saturday, 100 Vikings sat in formation in Solvang, Calif., a Danish-immigrant hamlet founded in 1911 about 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
The marauders, some horned and others wearing red jerseys, gathered and rowed.
They sat on the ground of a local park. Not far away lay a replica Viking longship, a smaller version of the vessel used by their spiritual and ancestral kin to explore and raid from North America to North Africa a millennium earlier.
At that moment, these Vikings joined millions of others globally rooting for Norway, which faced old rival England in the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup in Miami.
Call it Scandinavian solidarity.
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“Just because Denmark didn’t make it to the World Cup didn’t mean we’d be on the sidelines too,” said Kim Jansen, chief of the group called the Vikings of Solvang.
Saturday’s rowing event was part rally, part awareness campaign for the Vikings of Solvang, whose medical fundraising is welcomed by those they serve.
Jensen and vice chief Al Ferrer spoke with Essential California about his group’s philanthropy in between sets of rows.
Who are the Vikings of Solvang? 
Kim Jensen, chief of the Vikings of Solvang, , leads on the drum as members perform the Norwegian row at Solvang Park in Solvang, Calif., on Saturday before the Norway and England World Cup game.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
The nonprofit organization consists of about 200 volunteers, and there are chapters of Vikings scattered throughout the West Coast that easily put members in the thousands.
Santa Barbara’s club aims on “advancing the well-being of Santa Barbara County citizens through medical assistance and volunteerism for the past 50 years,” according to its description.
Oftentimes that’s paying a medical bill — an unpaid $5,000 ALS treatment, or $8,000 in dental repairs post a car accident — according to Jensen and Ferrer.
Other items purchased by the group have included wheelchairs, lifts and payments for cancer treatments.
Showing them the money
In that endeavor, the Vikings donate between $200,000 and $250,000 in needs-based grants annually, Ferrer said.
“It’s kids with cancer; it’s the neediest of the neediest that we help,” Ferrer said.
The group raised around $100,000 at its charity golf tournament in June, according to Ferrer.
The Vikings have given away about $3.2 million in grants since their inception in 1974, according to Jensen.
Donations range from a few dollars to a record $1.67-million gift in 2024.
Everyone is welcome
The Vikings’ aid also goes beyond medical assistance.
The group hosted a free luncheon last December for more than 1,000 kids in the area with Autism spectrum disorders, their families and teachers, Ferrer said. There, the Vikings also distributed gift cards and vouchers totaling more than $450 for the more than 200 teachers.
“The need is always there, and it’s always great,” Jensen said.
About every two months, the group also hosts dinners for its most elderly guests, something that amused the 80-something Ferrer.
“I was older than almost all of them,” Ferrer said, “but that’s fine. We had about 60 people a week ago, and it was great to connect.”
Why not cheer for Norway
Saturday’s gathering was a “last-minute” call by Ferrer and Jensen, who were inspired by seeing traveling crowds of Norwegian fans performing the team’s row.
“We thought, ‘Why not us too?’” Ferrer said. “Let’s cheer on those Vikings and let people know about what we’re doing. It’s a win-win.”
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