$25,000

Money put into the pockets of local artists and crafts people through our popular and successful monthly charity pop-up gallery series.

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1876

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) has been serving the Mountain View community since 1876; all member signatures are framed in the hallway downstairs.

$5,000

Money raised for nonprofits working on issues in our community through our pop-up gallery series; this is a small part of our charitable work.

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1909

Our lodge was built as the First National Bank, with a neoclassical exterior and has what we think is the first elevator in Mountain View (and it is still functional and inspected regularly!).

40 Members

Odd Fellows in our lodge range in ages from their 20s to their late 80s, joining together in community and fellowship to support our communities.

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1970

Our lodge has been at the corner of Villa St and Castro St since we purchased the building in 1970. It has a full kitchen, downstairs community space, and upstairs meeting hall.

If you’ve ever noshed on the sumptuous bao of Hong Kong Bakery or slurped down pho from Pho To Chau on downtown Mountain View’s Castro St, you have walked past Odd Fellows Lodge #244.

Maybe you and your kids have seen inside this historic 1909 building during the Odd Fellows’ annual Spring Mad Hatters Tea Party, Treasure Hunt, or Haunted House.

Maybe you visit the lodge every Wednesday night for the Odd Writers’ League, or on 2nd and 4th Sundays as a genderqueer or transgender member of the Oddizens D&D group.

Maybe you’re a foster child whose Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) is using the Odd Fellows’ kitchen to teach you how to cook. Maybe the Odd Fellows gave you a book scholarship for college or your grandfather was an Odd Fellow.

Maybe you come to one of our Muslim immigrant women’s dinner groups to cook, dance, and sing in a private and welcoming space. Maybe you’ve bought art at our monthly pop-up charity galleries benefiting organizations doing good work for members of our shared community.

Our purpose as an organization is summarized using some very 19th century language as: “Visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.” Practically, this means we:

  • Help people who are sick, whether chronically or acutely
  • Support people who are in crisis
  • Help bury those whose families cannot afford a dignified burial
  • Enable foster youth to survive and thrive, fully integrated into our community
  • Build community to make the South Bay more creative, mutually-supportive, and wonderful

If you’re interested in learning more, explore the website to learn more about our community, our history, and then apply to be a member. If you’re like us, we bet you’re odd too.

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Views expressed on this page do not reflect the views of the California Grand Lodge