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Community

125 Years of Empowering Women

Royal Neighbors of America

One hundred years ago today, the 19th amendment gave white women the right to vote. One hundred and twenty-five years ago this month, Royal Neighbors of America became the first insurance provider to cover women. The non-profit was founded and led by suffragettes in the Illinois Quad Cities. 

CEO & President Cynthia Tidwell says that community outreach has always been a part of Royal Neighbors' driving principles. 

"From the beginning, there was always the business side making sure that women have the proper protections on their lives, but also the philanthropic side of grassroots giving in their local communities."  

Tidwell says Royal Neighbors supported the community through the Spanish Flu pandemic early in the twentieth century, and it's doing the same in the twenty-first.

"We paid out every single claim that was owed, and it hurt many, many companies. Some life insurance companies went out of business because of that, but we're here for our members. And today, just like back then, we're here to help people through this crisis, and we're going to have to figure out how to live in spite of it." 

Royal Neighbors donated $15,000 to Quad Cities non-profits to meet rising needs in the midst of the pandemic. It's also invested $100,000 in 170 local chapters across the nation.  

Marianna Bacallao is WVIK Quad Cities NPR's 2020-2021 Fellowship Host/Reporter. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Mercer University's Center for Collaborative Journalism and served as Editor-in-Chief for the student newspaper, The Cluster.
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