Membership
The Danish Sisterhood of America is open to anyone interested in Danish traditions and culture.
The early lodges of the Danish Sisterhood were organized to provide social and financial aid to fellow Danes in this new land. Today our object is to promote friendship, encourage civic projects, and the promotion and education of our Danish heritage for future generations.
We have many lodges throughout the United States and Canada. Each lodge is unique and offers a variety of activities. These may include monthly meetings, guest speakers, Danish language lessons, cooking demonstrations, card parties, travelogues, films on Denmark, and Danish craft lessons.
To get information on how to join the Danish Sisterhood you can e-mail Karen Vig-Keathley, Membership Chair or write her at 109 S. First Street, Itasca, IL 60143-2114. She will send you a packet of information and an application for membership.
Please print our membership application PDF and mail it to: Linda Brooks, National Treasurer at 18402 Winter Berry Drive, Castle Rock, CO 80108.
If you just have questions regarding our organization, you can also send an e-mail to anyone of the officers listed on our Officers Page. We hope we will hear from you and want to thank you for your interest.
MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES
We have two types of membership: Certificate Holding Membership (no longer available except for those existing members who already hold a certificate) and Amber Membership (new members).
Certificate Holding and Amber memberships offer similar privileges and benefits with the exception of the funeral benefit, which is only available to the Certificate Holding members. Other privileges and benefits include eligibility to hold office and to serve as delegate at a National Convention.
Scholarships, continuing education grants, and camp grants are available to members and their children.
The dues structure is different for each type of membership:
AMBER MEMBERSHIP
The Amber member pays an annual flat fee (presently $45.00), which includes initiation fee, national dues, and subscription to the DSSNews. Local lodge dues are additional. If joining after July 1st, the cost is $22.50.
The Danish Sisterhood has a new and very special member status, the DSS Angels.
This status belongs to those members that wish to gift their funeral benefit back to the Sisterhood. We have had some members in the past make the Sisterhood their beneficiary.
We believe this is a generous and significant gift, and wish to honor them while we can, keeping a list of our current “Angels” posted.
If you wish to change your status, please contact your lodge or National Secretary for a Beneficiary Change form. Your benefit does not need to be fully paid yet, and you would be expected to maintain your payments, as the Sisterhood will not receive the benefit until your passing.
Those that do not have a funeral benefit as part of your membership category are welcome to participate by donating $1000 to the Danish Sisterhood, which can be sent to the National Treasurer.
On behalf of our entire membership, we wish to thank and honor our Angels:
Lodge # — Name
166 Viola Wilson
168 Joann Scott
126 Dorothy Petersen
188 Karin Plagens
75 Sandra Nelson
22 Caroke Hodges
15 Andrea Sue Welling Leih
12 Elizabeth Haar
177 Glenda Madrid
125 Nancy J. Mayland
171 Johanne Gade
102 Diann Weinman
149 Carol Smith
187 Meredith Sorensen
177 Marie Jaeger
81 Christina Sallee
81 Melissa Sallee
165 Marie Fairbanks
90 Constance Schneider
102 Susan R. Fisher
15 Lou Ann Jensen
125 Hanne Skaarup
177 Else Lassiter
15 Pamela H. Ruben
166 Carolyn Sias
126 Ruth M. Brigden
12 Kristine Huss
142 Seena Drapala
165 Margaret Wetzel
177 Verina Farrell
86 Lorraine Buchanan
15 Janice L. Schneider
15 Debra Spotz
90 Vicki Bousquet
177 Marianne Larsen
185 Bente Bob
102 Linda Holz
102 Janelle Willis