Loyal
Orange Institution
of
the
The
Loyal Orange Institution of the USA has a long history of charitable endeavor.
Through the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries, when
immigration was at full flood, the Order met important social needs. For many,
the lodges provided a network for finding employment and a safety net for those
who fell on hard times. Lodge meetings, dances, and similar events provided many
peopleâs only opportunities for significant recreation and socializing.
In cities where immigrants settled, the respective ethnic groups, to
assist new arrivals and to provide a forum for perpetuating the groupâs values
and heritage in the new country, formed numerous ãfriendly societiesä and
ãbenevolent associationsä. One
of many such organizations, the Orange Order ably served the needs of
communities of immigrants from Ulster and elsewhere.
But, because of vast and well-known social and cultural changes too
complex and extensive to detail here, the time has long since passed when the
Order can usefully fulfill these functions.
At one time the lodges provided unemployment insurance, death benefits,
and care for the elderly and for widows and orphans.
In 1902, the Orange Home was founded at Hatboro, Pennsylvania, and, for
almost a hundred years, it provided shelter and support for those in need. However, with the coming of the welfare state, beginning
before World War II and accelerating in the 1960s with Great Society
legislation, the state assumed more and more responsibility for those in need,
and the provision of voluntary care to the needy became progressively more
regulated and costly. The Orange
Home continued as a retirement center until 1996, when the Order sold it as a
going concern to a large church-related organization.
The proceeds from the sale were used to establish a charitable trust,
known as the Orange Foundation. This
is administered jointly by the Loyal Orange Institution, and the Loyal Orange
Ladies Institution. Income from the Foundation is disbursed to a number of
qualified charities. A significant
amount is applied to supplementary scholarships in tertiary education for the
children and grandchildren of Orangemen and Orangewomen.
The recipients must be enrolled full-time at accredited two-year or
four-year colleges or universities, and must have completed their first year of
study successfully. This program is
growing rapidly.
The Orange Foundation functions at the national level. Many primary lodges also engage in acts of charity at the local level.
Orangeism in USA | Structure of Orangeism in USA | The Orange Foundation | Declaration of Principles | Qualifications for Membership
Birth of the
Orange Order