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Woodmen of the World is a fraternal organization in the United States. The organization was founded in 1890 in Omaha, Nebraska by Joseph Cullen Root. Root had earlier founded another fraternal organization known as Modern Woodmen.

Woodmen of the World is one of the leading presenters of U.S. flags to school and non-profit groups. There are approximately 2,000 community-based Woodmen lodges throughout the nation. Lodges conduct volunteer, patriotic and charitable activities that benefit individuals and communities.

Woodmen lodges have presented more than 1.4 million U.S. flags over the past 60 years.

Contents 1 History 2 Current programs 3 Physical legacies 4 Trivia 5 External links

Originally, when a member died, a hat would be passed to provide assistance to the member's family. Later, the organization began offering life insurance to its members.

Today, Woodmen of the World provides valued financial solutions to 800,000 members across the nation. This includes life insurance and annuities, long-term care insurance, cancer insurance, and access to mutual funds, 529 College Savings Plans and other financial services.

Members are also eligible to receive a wide array of fraternal benefits. These include participation in a youth program, a camping experience for youth and senior members, disaster relief assistance, a prescription drug discount card, and monetary support for members' orphaned children.

Another aspect of the organization's patriotic mission is the annual In Honor and Remembrance program, which pays tribute to the heroes and victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

The program includes conducting public ceremonies each year on September 11, and donating flagpoles and U.S. flags to schools, fire departments, parks and other public places. More than 2,400 In Honor and Remembrance ceremonies have been held since the program began in 2002. To mark the 5th anniversary of 9/11, Woodmen of the World hung two 50 x 100 foot U.S. flags on the Woodmen Tower, the 30-story building in Omaha, Neb., that serves as their national headquarters. Twin beams of lights, with a combined 10-billion candlepower, also illuminated the Omaha skyline each evening during the week of 9/11 in tribute to the World Trade Center.

The the Woodmen of the World/American Red Cross disaster relief partnership, the organization's 800,000 members are encouraged to support the disaster relief work of their local Red Cross chapters. In 2005, following the Gulf Coast hurricanes, Woodmen of the World members reported more than 206,000 hours of volunteer assistance. This included preparing more than 175,000 meals for storm victims, evacuees and rescue workers. Woodmen of the World camp facilities in several states were also used as mass shelter sites.

One of the most enduring physical legacies of the organization may be the number of distinctive headstones erected in the shape of a tree stump. This was an early benefit of Woodmen membership, and the headstones can be found in cemeteries across the nation.

• In the 2002 film About Schmidt Jack Nicholson plays a retired Woodmen of the World senior executive.

• (English) Official website
• Gravestone Photographs