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.

Established in 1905, today OSIA has more than 600,000 members and supporters and a network of more than 700 chapters coast to coast, making it the leading service and advocacy organization for the nation's estimated 26 million people of Italian descent.

Its missions include encouraging the study of Italian language and culture in American schools and universities; preserving Italian American traditions, culture, history and heritage; and promoting closer cultural relations between the United States and Italy.

The Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF) is a private, philanthropic institution, established by OSIA in 1959. To date, the SIF has given more than $93 million to scholarships, medical research, cultural preservation, disaster relief, and other projects.

The Commission for Social Justice (CSJ) is the anti-defamation arm of OSIA. The CSJ is committed to fighting racism, prejudice, and the stereotyping of all races, religions and cultures.

OSIA's national headquarters is in Washington, D.C., near Capitol Hill and the various congressional office buildings.

That is an excellent question!

Yes, women are allowed.  In fact, currently over 50% of OSIA's members are women and that number is growing.  Why, then, is our name "Sons of Italy" rather than "Sons and Daughters of Italy?"  The answer is in our history.

OSIA was founded in 1905 as "L'Ordine Figli d'Italia," which is Italian for "The Order Children of Italy."  The name was translated into English in the masculine form (Figli also means sons.), and has been preserved as such for name recognition and legacy purposes. 

Women have always shared equal rights with men in OSIA.  Women have held leadership positions at all levels, including state president, national trustee, national vice president and national president.  There is an effort afoot to make the name change to "The Order Children of Italy" but the wheels of change turn very slowly.

OSIA is for people of any gender, age, religion and profession, and you don't even have to be Italian to join! Whether you are of Italian heritage or simply have a love for things Italian, OSIA welcomes you as a member!  Click on the Contacts button and send us an email for more information or if you want to join.

We are one of the newer lodges in New Jersey, established in 2002.  But youth is not a detriment, we are one of the largest lodges in the state with over 100 members and many supporters throughout the area.  Our lodge (as well as OSIA as a whole) is non-profit and is always giving money to one or more of our designated charities of which there are several.  The Alzheimer's Association, The Cooley's Anemia Foundation, The Arthritis Foundation, our Scholarship program, and the Commission for Social Justice. 

Two events highlight our year, our Spring Dance and Breakfast with LaBefana and Santa.  Each of these events is attended by over 150 people and growing.  The Spring Dance or "Il Ballo di Primavera" is a dinner with music and dancing.  The Breakfast with LaBefana and Santa is obviously a morning affair where the children are the focus.  LaBefana (the Good Christmas Witch) tells the children stories of her roots in Italian culture and hands out candy to the children.  Then Santa arrives and each child 12 and under receives a gift. 

Besides our events, we have general meetings 10 times a year where we try to have a guest speaker of cultural interest on hand.

Our Sons of Italy lodge has 3 reasons to exist.  First as a philanthropic organization, second as a protector of our culture and heritage, and third as a social organization.  We are non-partisan (but we support those who support us), and we don't have hidden agendas or slush funds.  We exist for the betterment, the protection and the support of the Italian community at large.