It all began in the 1920s when Pittsburgh’s Italian immigrants started forming lodges so members would be able to help one another in times of need. With no government programs to assist people when the bread winner unexpectedly lost a job, or worse yet died, the immigrants could only look to one another for help. The meager dues the immigrants were able to pay enabled the lodge to help put food on the table or cover the burial expenses of its less fortunate members.
These early lodges were affiliated with the Order Sons of Italy. But as was the case so often with the immigrant lodges, differences arose and 22 lodges in the Pittsburgh area chose to break away and form their own organization, which would be known as the Order Italian Sons and Daughters of America. Its official charter was issued on April 12, 1930.
The new organization began to grow after WWII with new lodges forming throughout the Great Lakes area, including in Indiana, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, with lodges as far south as Florida.
In 1960, under the leadership of then-President Rugerio Aldesert, the ISDA formed a companion organization known as the ISDA Fraternal Association, an insurance and annuity company that would provide benefits to its members.
After his election in 2014, ISDA President Basil M. Russo launched an aggressive expansion, which has produced several significant results:
- The ISDA created the largest and most informative Italian American website in the country with over 720,000 Facebook followers and millions of annual readers.
- The ISDA Fraternal Association, now known as ISDA Financial Life, has grown from $60 million in assets to more than $190 million in assets over the past five years, making it the largest Italian American-owned insurance company in the country.
- The ISDA has formed new lodges in Louisiana, New Jersey and New York, with more to come.
- The ISDA has grown in national stature with ISDA President Basil M. Russo recently being elected to serve as the new president of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations.
ISDA has, for the past 90 years, remained true to its mission of preserving the heritage of the Italian American community. Central to that mission is its ongoing effort to reach out to our youth, and to provide them with the knowledge and experiences they need to appreciate the values, traditions and history of the beautiful heritage they have been blessed with.
Thank you to all of our members and partners — past and present — who have contributed to our meteoric rise. And together, we will continue to fulfill our great mission for the next 90 years to come.
