Celebration Takes Place During Women’s History Month

Rock Island, Ill. (March 21, 2023) – Royal Neighbors of America, a fraternal benefit society and one of the largest women-led life insurers in the U.S., celebrates its 128-year anniversary on March 21, 2023, during Women’s History Month. With its mission to insure lives, support women, and serve communities through volunteerism and philanthropy, Royal Neighbors of America has grown its membership to more than 250,000 individuals from when it was pioneered by nine women in 1895.

To celebrate its anniversary, Royal Neighbors launched a robust Historical Digital Museum that features information on its camps, chapters, leaders, timeline of current events, and archived historical documents, articles, and photos. This dynamic digital museum is ever-changing with new content, highlighting the rich history of its organization and members, as well as the impact made on local communities. The digital museum even hosts a photo from when Royal Neighbors of America was originally chartered.

“Given the history of Royal Neighbors, we teamed up with HistoryIT to create a dynamic historical timeline to showcase the contributions of women throughout American history and Royal Neighbors’ advancements from its humble beginnings in 1895,” said Zarifa Reynolds, Royal Neighbors of America’s CEO and President. “Our Historical Digital Museum highlights milestones such as our Fraternal Fund in 1921, purchase of $1 Million of War Bonds during WWII in 1942, development of the Help to Hear Project in 1959, and more recently launched programs such as the Difference Maker Fund in 2016 and RoyalConnect this past December. It is an amazing resource that celebrates the trailblazing past of Royal Neighbors and highlights our vision to continue to support women and communities in the future.”

Women’s History Month highlights the achievements of women in history and recognizes the women who have changed the world in so many ways.

“We are committed to making a meaningful and lasting impact for women and their communities,” said Royal Neighbors Director of Philanthropy Amy Jones. “In this work, there is so much to celebrate. Our members are leaders in their local communities, volunteering to feed the hungry, mentoring young girls in afterschool programs, serving the homeless, and more. During this Women’s History Month and throughout the year, you can find artifacts that celebrate the impact of our memberships from 120 years ago and last month.”

“We are honored that Royal Neighbors trusted HistoryIT to digitally preserve their important and impactful history,” said Kristen Gwinn-Becker, PhD, Founder & CEO of HistoryIT. “The work they have done over the past 130 years to provide equal access to insurance aligns with our own mission, and we are happy to support it. The team at HistoryIT team is proud to help save and share the legacy of such an altruistic business.” .

About Royal Neighbors of America

Royal Neighbors was founded in 1895 as a membership organization by nine pioneering women who recognized the need to insure the lives of women and children. Now, with more than 250,000 members nationwide, Royal Neighbors of America offers life insurance and annuity products to its members and is driven by its mission of supporting women and serving communities. The organization’s employees, members, and chapters across the country drive the mission through localized volunteerism and philanthropy programs making social impact the cornerstone of their work. In 2020, Royal Neighbors was upgraded to “A Excellent” (3rd highest out of 13) by the AM Best Company for overall financial strength and ability to meet ongoing obligations to certificate holders. The rating was affirmed as of November 30, 2021 and once again in 2022. In 2022, Royal Neighbors delivered $24.5 million in social good impact, record revenue and received an all-time high score from the Great Place to Work^® employee survey, achieving their sixth Great Place to Work Certification. For more information about Royal Neighbors of America, go to royalneighbors.org.