Woodmen of the World
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Woodmen of the World is a fraternal organization with its corporate headquarters in the Woodmen Tower at 1700 Farnam Street. Woodmen was founded in 1890 in Omaha by Joseph Cullen Root and is the largest fraternal benefit society with open membership in the United States. In addition to providing life insurance protection to members, Root believed that Woodmen members, through their local lodges, should be an active volunteer force within their communities, helping those in need.
Today, the organization provides disaster relief efforts through the Woodmen/American Red Cross partnership. More than 1,600 Woodmen volunteers belong to 160 disaster action teams nationwide, providing relief efforts in their local communities.
In 1944, Woodmen President Farrar Newberry formed a National Service Committee composed of 12 members from across the nation to suggest ways of encouraging the growth of Woodmen lodges through community activities.
Woodmen Merged with four other fraternal benefit societies during the 1960s. Joining the Woodmen organization were:
- The United Order of the Golden Cross, Knoxville, Tenn., 1962;
- The Mutual Benefit Department of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers, St. Louis, Mo., 1964;
- The Supreme Forest Woodmen Circle, Omaha, Neb., 1965; and
- The New England Order of Protection, Boston, Mass., 1968.
- The acquisition of the Woodmen Circle, which served as the women's auxiliary of Woodmen since it was founded by Root in Omaha in 1892, added more than 130,000 members to the organization.
It was more than 30 years before another organization merged with Woodmen. That was:
- Neighbors of Woodcraft, Oregon City, Ore., July 1, 2001.
Spanning three centuries, Woodmen has evolved into a modern financial services organization, offering life and health insurance, annuities, investments and home mortgages. Today, Woodmen is one of the largest fraternal benefit societies with more than 810,000 members who belong to more than 2,000 lodges across the United States and conduct volunteer projects that benefit individuals, families and communities.
