Ways to get involved!

Ready to learn how you can help support our service and advocacy missions for Americans of Italian descent?

Click on the topics below to learn more!

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Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America National Office Contact Information

• For general inquiries, please e-mail nationaloffice@osia.org.
• To contact the Sons of Italy Foundation, please email sif@osia.org.
• To contact the Commission for Social Justice, please e-mail csj@osia.org.
• To contact Italian America Magazine, please e-mail ItalianAmerica@osia.org.
• For questions regarding the National Leadership Grant Competition (scholarships), please e-mail scholarships@osia.org.
• For questions regarding the National Education and Leadership Awards (NELA) Gala, please e-mail nela@osia.org.

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Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America
The Grand Lodge of Florida
828 Timberview Dr., Unit A
Fort Pierce, FL 34982

Phone: 561 723-3844

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Find Your Local Lodge

There are 21 local lodges across seven regions of Florida. Lodges meet regularly for social and community-oriented activities. Dues vary according to individual lodges.

Use the map below to find a local lodge near you.

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Scholarships

Eligibility Requirements

It is the goal of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America to promote, enhance and encourage the studies of Italian heritage and culture. This scholarship program is designed to benefit worthy students of Italian descent that display academic excellence, leadership qualities and a financial need.

Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of eligibility, scholastic achievement, financial need and participation in school and community programs.

• Association with the Order Sons of Italy in America is not a prerequisite, however the applicant must be of Italian descent and a State of Florida resident.
• Applicants must have a minimum grade point average of 3.00 (unweighted)
• Applicants must have a minimum SAT total score of 1100 -or- must have an ACT Composite score of 23.
• Recipients must be accepted as a full-time student at an accredited junior college, college or university and must enroll immediately following graduation from a State of Florida high school.

The Florida Foundation and Niceville High School Scholarships

Information and the application packet for either scholarship are available. Here is the application for the Florida Foundation Scholarship.

Please note: Eligibility for Niceville High School Scholarship is restricted to Niceville High School Seniors.

• Funds for the recipients will be mailed directly to the school Bursar or Financial Aid Office of choice with the instruction that they may be used for any expenses processed through their office for the recipient. 
• Scholarship recipients that are accepted and decide to attend another school, other than the one originally selected, must immediately notify the Grand Lodge Scholarship Chairperson so the funds may be transferred to the appropriate institution. 
• Unused funds in the account must be returned to the Grand Lodge of Florida, Order Sons of Italy in America, Florida Foundation upon either of the following:
  • The recipient ceases to attend classes for whatever reason and does not immediately transfer to another accredited institution.
  • The recipient withdraws from school and does not immediately transfer to another school.

All funds returned to the Order Sons of Italy, Florida Foundation will be incorporated with the funds for the following year’s awards.

Other Scholarships

National Leadership Grant Competition

Through the Sons of Italy Foundation® (SIF), and hundreds of thousands of family members located in all fifty states and the District of Columbia, the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America® (OSDIA) has awarded nearly $61 million in scholarships to date. In past years, the SIF has offered 10 to 12 merit-based scholarships (National Leadership Grants), ranging from $4,000 to $25,000, in a nationwide competition.  These figures and the number of scholarships may vary according to funding each year.

Giovanna Zuppa Memorial Scholarship Fund

This is a non-renewable scholarship for freshmen, current and transfer students.

This scholarship was developed in 1988 and implemented in 1992 by Bill Zuppa on behalf of the entire Zuppa family. The scholarship honors Giovanna Zuppa, a past OSIA member, who was born in 1900 in a small town in southern Italy. This need-based scholarship is intended to encourage American students involved in Italian culture to further their education at USF. Strong consideration will be given to American students of Italian heritage or students involved in Italian culture. 

Special Requirements:

Submit the USF Foundation Scholarship Application and a brief statement describing your involvement in Italian culture.

Send inquiry to:

University of South Florida
Office of Financial Aid, Fowler Ave
Tampa, Florida

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The Florida Foundation

Preserving and Promoting Italian Heritage in Florida

The Florida Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Italian heritage in Florida. The Foundation was established in 2018 by the Grand Lodge of Florida, Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America.

The Florida Foundation supports a variety of programs and initiatives that promote Italian culture and heritage in Florida. These programs include:

• Scholarships for high school seniors and college students of Italian descent who are pursuing studies in Italian language, culture, or history
• Cultural events such as concerts, film festivals, and educational programs
• Preservation projects to preserve Italian heritage sites and artifacts in Florida

The Florida Foundation is committed to ensuring that future generations of Floridians have the opportunity to learn about and celebrate their Italian heritage.

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Who We Are

The Grand Lodge of Florida

We are an organization dedicated to the preservation of our Italian heritage, language and culture. 

The Grand Lodge of Florida was incorporated in 1953.  Currently, there are 20 lodges under the umbrella of the Grand Lodge of Florida with a total of approximately 1,420 members.  

The Florida Foundation

The Florida Foundation issues five  scholarships annually to graduating high school seniors in Florida. Local lodges also are active in issuing scholarships within the boundaries of their individual unit. 

The Foundation also donates to charities, such as the cancer fund, Alzheimer’s fund, Autism and Cooley’s Anemia. 

 

The Commission for Social Justice

The Commission for Social Justice strives to promote our Italian heritage and culture while dealing with issues of defamation, bias and bigotry.

  The Commission is   particularly concerned with eliminating false and discriminatory portrayals of Italian  Americans.

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Originally called Ordine Figli d'Italia, the Order Sons of Italy in America® (OSDIA) was established in the Little Italy neighborhood of New York City on June 22, 1905, by Vincenzo Sellaro, M.D., and five other Italian immigrants who came to the United States during the great Italian migration (1880-1923). Their aim was to create a support system for all Italian immigrants that would assist them with becoming U.S. citizens, provide health/death benefits and educational opportunities and offer assistance with assimilation in America. In 2017, the Order Sons of Italy in America was renamed the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America® (OSDIA).

Highlights in OSDIA's history:

• In its early years, OSDIA established free schools to teach immigrants English and centers to help them become U.S. citizens.
• The first OSDIA lodges established orphanages and homes for the elderly, life insurance and mortuary funds, credit unions, welfare societies and scholarship funds to aid members in need.
• During World Wars I and II, OSDIA members bought war bonds and war stamps to support the war effort, and lodges competed with each other to contribute the most money to the Red Cross.
• In World War II, the OSDIA Supreme Council (national officers) issued a resolution urging members to donate one day's salary to the national defense.
• To date, OSDIA members have given tens of millions of dollars to educational programs, disaster relief, cultural advancement and medical research.

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Lodge Membership

OSDIA lodge members can hold local, state and national OSDIA leadership positions; represent lodges at local, state and national meetings; and vote on important issues within OSDIA, SIF and CSJ. Please contact your local lodge for more information regarding different types of lodge membership and the ability to hold office.

• Dues vary by lodge.
• Lodge members are entitled to all benefits, including discounts for items you probably use all the time!
• Join a lodge (contact your local lodge). Note: Lodge members have free access to the exclusive Members Only section. New and current lodge members should contact your lodge to set up a free Members-Only account.

Membership Benefits

Discounts on various products and services, including genealogy research, travel, Italian language instruction, and more. See participating vendors on the Benefits and Discounts page.

Benefits for Lodge Members:

• Free print & online subscription to Italian America® magazine, the most widely read cultural magazine in the U.S. for people of Italian heritage.
• Access to OSIA.org, and information about issues, programs, reports and research important to Italian Americans, and other benefits are available only online.
• Discounts on various products and services, including genealogy research, travel, Italian language instruction, and more. See participating vendors on the Benefits and Discounts page.
• Email promotions and giveaways.

• Early notice of new features on OSIA.org.
• Eligibility for OSDIA scholarships and participation in OSDIA youth programs.
• Italian America® magazine advertising discounts. More information.
• Free benefits & discounts on various products and services, including: Wireless, Prescription Savings, Travel, Health & Wellness, Genealogy, Language Instruction, Insurance, Culinary products And much more!
• Hold local, state, and national leadership positions in OSDIA.
• Represent your lodge at local, state and national meetings of OSDIA.
• Vote on important issues within OSDIA, the Sons of Italy Foundation® and the Commission for Social Justice®.

Your Membership helps OSDIA:

• Promote Italian language and culture in U.S. schools and colleges.
• Educate the general public about the historical achievements and contributions of Italians and Italian Americans.
• Fight the stereotyping of Italian Americans by the U.S. entertainment, advertising and news media.
• Advocate for Italian Americans pursuing federal and state appointments, and for important legislation affecting the Italian American community.
• Assist Italian American students and young professionals with their career plans through internships, mentoring, and youth programs.
• Award scholarships to young Italian Americans at leading universities.
• Donate funds to medical research, disaster relief efforts, education, cultural preservation and other important projects. [nearly $117 Million]
• Support Italian government efforts on a wide range of cultural, educational, and humanitarian activities.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters:

I am pleased and humbled to have been elected as your Florida Grand Lodge President for 2023- 2025

The Florida Grand Lodge 36th Biennial Convention was held June 7-10 at the Embassy Suites in Kissimmee. We had a great turnout of lodges and by all accounts, the convention was a great success. I want to thank Tony and Carolyn Cianciotta and Bob and Gertrude Dorries for all the hard work they put into making the convention a success. The elections ran smoothly under the capable direction of Greg Esposito and I thank him for his leadership.

I am pleased to announce the newly elected officers for 2023-2025. You’ll find the list under the Grand Lodge Officers page.

We had returning leadership and some new officers. I am looking forward to working with them all. Congratulations to all newly elected and returning officers!

The special events – luncheons, installation dinner/dance, and the presentation on the new imember database were all well attended. We raised money for the Grand Lodge via the Silent Auction, the Raffle, the sales of the new pins and other memorabilia and the sales of the cookbook. A big thank you goes to Betty Dente, Greg Bianchini, Bill Pezzillo and Edmondo Catania for their hard work for the Grand Lodge.

I am excited about the momentum generated during the convention, and I am looking forward to building on that momentum and working for you and with you for the next two years. Please call or email me or any of the officers if you have a question or concern.

Fraternally yours,
Joseph S. Dente
President Grand Lodge of Florida

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A new organization is seeking to dispel the myths surrounding Christopher Columbus, and it is being backed by the five largest Italian American organizations in the United States and their millions of members and followers.

In the wake of the unprecedented attacks on the reputation of Christopher Columbus that have spread throughout the country, the five most significant Italian American organizations in the nation decided that the Genovese navigator deserved a fair and balanced examination and the more than 20 million-person Italian American Community must help lead the effort to make sure he gets it.

The Columbus Citizens Foundation, the Italians Sons and Daughters of America (ISDA), the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF), the Order of the Sons and Daughters of Italy (OSDIA), and UNICO National -- gathered together in an unprecedented show of Italian American unity to form, and fund, the National Columbus Education Foundation.

The National Columbus Education Foundation was organized as a way to conduct and distribute research, studies and analysis relating to Christopher Columbus. The Foundation intends to develop policy solutions and proposals to address the preservation of Columbus Day with an emphasis on correcting the false narrative surrounding the famed explorer. Resources will be directed towards educating the general public to promote an active discussion to verify the great accomplishments of Christopher Columbus and why Columbus Day should be preserved, and celebrated by all Americans.

The National Columbus Education Foundation will concentrate its educational and outreach activities on correcting the false narrative about Christopher Columbus. The Foundation will also undertake a variety of research projects to assist with developing educational materials and multi-media content that are accessible to the general public, as well as to grassroots leaders and policymakers.

“The fact is that the popular conversation surrounding Columbus today is filled with misconceptions and one-sided history, and as the community most closely associated with Columbus and Columbus Day, we felt it was our civic duty to present and defend the other side of the story” said Angelo Vivolo, who was unanimously elected chair of the new organization. “When you study the historiography around this man, you come to see that the historical sources that celebrate him as a great figure far outweigh the few that cast him in a negative light, and we have to ask ourselves why the majority of the sources are being ignored and repressed while one of the oldest American holidays and first American heroes is summarily wiped away without any objective conversation?”

The Foundation is set to launch a large public campaign and website called KnowColumbus.org in order to disseminate facts and findings and present a more objective approach to how we examine our complex history in the face of ongoing agitation about Columbus and other long-revered American historical figures. In addition, the National Columbus Education Foundation will sponsor workshops on results of the research for citizens and community leaders.

While the National Columbus Education Foundation may express a point of view or set forth recommendations on an issue, all publications will be written with a view toward exploring the broad range of approaches and solutions to complex public policy surrounding the preservation of Columbus Day and other aspects of American history and culture.

Upon the official formation of the Foundation, John M. Viola, executive producer of the Italian American Podcast, and former president and chief operating officer of the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) was unanimously named the Foundation’s first executive director.

“The mission of our new foundation is to bring a nuanced and fair perspective to the examination of a complex historical figure,” said John M. Viola, executive director. “It is our immediate intention to begin the work of building a coalition of Americans of all ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds to make clear that our nation deserves an honest look at Columbus and all aspects of its history.

"Up until now, critics of Columbus have refused to have an open discussion and based their vitriolic attacks on one or two accounts of Columbus’ life written hundreds of years ago by people with their own agendas, and we think that ought to be corrected. At this critical moment in American social history, if we really want to correct historical wrongs, then we can’t perform that delicate surgery by chopping at it with a blunt axe, and that is what is happening.”

About the National Columbus Education Foundation

The National Columbus Education Foundation was organized to conduct and distribute research, studies and analysis relating to Christopher Columbus. Comprised of members from all major national Italian American organizations -- Columbus Citizens Foundation, the Italians Sons and Daughters of America (ISDA), the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF), the Order of the Sons and Daughters of Italy (OSDIA), and UNICO National-- the Foundation intends to develop policy solutions and proposals to address the preservation of Columbus Day with an emphasis on correcting the false narrative surrounding the famed explorer. Resources will be directed towards educating the general public to promote an active discussion to verify the great accomplishment of Christopher Columbus and why Columbus Day should be preserved.

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Buona Fortuna Festa Italiana 2024: A Celebration of Community, Culture, and Culinary Delights

Festa Italiana: A Celebration of Community, Culture, and Culinary Delights

Buona Fortuna Lodge #2835 of Pensacola, Florida held its 14th annual Festa Italiana on October 11th and 12th at Fountain Park in Downtown Pensacola, and this year’s event proved to be our most successful yet. The Festa drew large crowds eager to indulge in Italian culture, cuisine, and entertainment, while also supporting local and national charities. This celebration of Italian heritage brought the community together for a weekend filled with food, art, and tradition—leaving a lasting impact both financially and culturally.

A Feast of Italian Flavors

At the heart of the Festa Italiana was, of course, the incredible food. Our lodge members worked tirelessly to prepare a wide array of mouth-watering dishes, with each booth offering a taste of Italy. Some of the festival favorites included Shrimp Scampi Napoletano, Ultimate Italian Sandwiches, and Spaghetti and Meatballs. Other delicious options, like Lasagna, Sausage, Peppers, and Onion Sandwiches, and Meatball Sandwiches, were prepared fresh on-site. In total, over 3,500 homemade meatballs were lovingly rolled by our members, ensuring that every bite was as authentic and flavorful as possible.

The drink tent was equally popular, offering a unique specially commissioned Italian beer and curated wine flights. Of course, there were also sodas and water available to keep everyone refreshed as they sampled the rich flavors from our food booths.

A Cultural Experience Like No Other

Beyond the culinary delights, Festa Italiana was a celebration of Italian culture in every sense. Attendees enjoyed demonstrations of Italian glassblowing and pottery, as well as pasta-making sessions that showcased the artistry behind this staple of Italian cuisine. Italian dance demonstrations filled the park with music and energy, adding to the vibrant atmosphere.

Adding an extra touch of elegance to the event, the local opera company delivered stirring performances that captivated the audience and transported them to the heart of Italy. The combination of fine arts and folk traditions made this year’s Festa a well-rounded cultural experience for all ages.

Success Beyond Expectations

This year's Festa Italiana was not only a cultural triumph, but it was also a huge financial success, raising significant funds to support our lodge's charitable efforts. The money raised will help both local and national charities, as well as provide scholarships to graduating high school seniors in our community—something we are deeply proud to support.

In addition to the fundraising achievements, the Buona Fortuna Lodge signed up 64 new paid members, making it the largest lodge in the Grand Lodge of Florida. This growth is a testament to the sense of community fostered at the event and the hard work of everyone involved in making the Festa a success.

The Heroes Behind the Scenes

None of this would have been possible without the dedication and effort of nearly 100 volunteers who worked before, during, and after the event. Among these volunteers were local military members, who, alongside our lodge volunteers, worked tirelessly to ensure that everything ran smoothly. Their contributions were invaluable, and their willingness to lend a helping hand truly embodied the spirit of the Festa.

Looking Forward

As we reflect on another successful Festa Italiana, we are filled with gratitude for everyone who contributed to this event—from the chefs and artists to the volunteers and attendees. It is through these collective efforts that Buona Fortuna Lodge continues to grow and make a positive impact on both our local community and beyond.

We are already looking forward to next year’s Festa, where we hope to build on this success, further share our love for Italian culture, and continue our mission of giving back to the community. Until then, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all who made this year's Festa Italiana an unforgettable celebration.

Viva Italia!

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