Order Sons of Italy in America

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Founded on June 22, 1905 by Dr. Vincenzo Sellaro, OSIA is the largest Italian American fraternal organization in the United States.
Founded on June 22, 1905 by Dr. Vincenzo Sellaro, OSIA is the largest Italian American fraternal organization in the United States.

The Order Sons of Italy in America (Italian: Ordine Figli d’Italia in America, OSIA) is the largest and oldest Italian American fraternal organization in the United States.[1] A similar organization also exists in Canada.[2]

It was founded on June 22, 1905 by Dr. Vincenzo Sellaro to help assimilate Italians into American society during the immigration boom of the early 20th century. In 1928 Dr. Sellaro was given the key to New York in recognition of his social and medical achievements.

During its history, OSIA has been involved in promoting immigration legislation; assisting in the assimilation process; supporting cooperation, trade, and diplomatic relations between the United States and Italy; initiating social and fraternal events; encouraging educational achievement through scholarships; serving local communities through a variety of cultural events and raising funds for local charities; and providing low-cost group financial investments and insurance.

The Order Sons of Italy contains 2 subsidiaries:

  • The Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF), the charitable arm of the Sons of Italy which has given more than $93 million to medical research, disaster relief and scholarships since 1959.[3]
  • The Commission for Social Justice (CSJ), founded in 1979 to protest the stereotyping of Italian Americans by entertainment, advertising and news industries.[4] In example, it has led campaigns to get The Sopranos taken off the air, and it objected to actor Robert De Niro receiving honorary Italian citizenship, believing his roles to be negative stereotypes.

Nowadays the Order accepts female members and supports a number of charities as well as ties to the Italian homeland.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Who we are". The Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA) is the largest and longest-established national organization for men and women of Italian heritage in the United States. Accessed on July 28, 2007.
  2. ^ "Welcome to the Order Sons of Italy Website". The Order Sons of Italy of Canada is an organization of men and women devoted to a number of principals which are more specifically set out in the Mission Statement found in this web site. Accessed on July 28, 2007.
  3. ^ "About the Sons of Italy Foundation". The Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF) is the philanthropic arm of the Order Sons of Italy in America. Accessed on July 28, 2007.
  4. ^ "The Commission for Social Justice". The Commission for Social Justice (CSJ) is the anti-defamation arm of the Order Sons of Italy in America. Accessed on July 28, 2007.
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