The starting point for this project was fairly simple: if the Hartstichting wanted to reach more people, raise more funds, and build something people could actively be part of, an event made a lot of sense. Not as a one-day moment, but as a full campaign people could sign up for, talk about, train for, and eventually show up to.

New idea: IJsbrekers

Not as a one-day moment, but as a full campaign people could sign up for, talk about, train for, and eventually show up to.

That idea became IJsbrekers, a new fundraising event built around one of the most Dutch things imaginable: (ice) skating as many laps as possible for a good cause.

Together with the Hartstichting, Unfound helped shape the concept from the ground up into an event that felt active, accessible and genuinely worth joining. On 7 February 2026, the first edition brought 423 participants to Schaatsbaan Breda and raised €114,000 for FIT-HEART, a research programme focused on how sport and exercise can help protect, strengthen, and restore the heart.

But for this to work, the event needed more than a good idea. It needed a full campaign around it. Unfound helped structure the whole thing, from the positioning and marketing campaign to recruitment, PR, and the live production on the day itself. That meant bringing in participants from all angles, from sports clubs to schools, and building enough momentum to make people want to be part of it months before they actually stepped onto the ice.

That balance mattered from day one. IJsbrekers was never meant to feel like a closed-off sports event or a heavy-handed fundraiser. It had to stay open, warm, and inviting. People could join solo, as a duo, or in teams, while the 180-round challenge gave the day a clear shared goal. Add in the presence of Dutch skating legends Barbara de Loor and Gianni Romme, and the whole thing had real weight without losing its human side.

3..2..1... Let's go!

What made the project work is exactly what made the idea strong in the first place: it got people moving in every sense of the word. Physically, obviously. But also emotionally. It gave participants something clear to rally around, something they could explain to friends, colleagues, and family without needing a ten-slide presentation to get there.

And that is often where the difference is made. Not in shouting the message louder, but in building an idea people actually want to be part of.

IJsbrekers did exactly that. It got people onto the ice, brought in over a ton for research, and proved that a fundraising event does not have to feel worthy in the formal, slightly sleepy sense of the word. It can feel generous, energetic, and genuinely fun too. Which usually helps.

‍