Help our Ukrainian Odd Fellow Members

Calling all Odd Fellows!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We have Brothers of the IOOF in Ukraine. The brothers are members of The Bractwo club in Lviv, Ukraine. The members have worked closely with the Polska Łoża No. 3 Wratyslaw in Wrocław, Poland. The Bractwo club in Lviv has 29 brothers, and was established in 2012. The creation of an independent Lodge in Lviv was planned for 2022; however, in the face of the war in Ukraine, these plans have been placed on hold.

In November 2021, 9 brothers from Lviv received the Second Degree, the degree of Love, from the Wratyslaw Lodge in Poland.

While our Ukrainian brothers themselves are staying in Ukraine to defend their home and independence, they are sending their families from Lviv to Wroclaw where the members of the Polish lodge will work to provide lodging and ensure that the families are well taken care of. Due to the emergency nature of their departure, the families have been able to take very little in the way of belongings, clothing, and other items. While the Polish lodge has taken it upon themselves to support the families of our Ukrainian brothers, as you can imagine, this will require significant funds.

We ask you to donate whatever you can to assist our brethren and their families. The Polish lodge in Wroclaw has set up a bank account capable of receiving foreign funds; however, given the fees associated with wire transfers, we are using this GoFundMe to facilitate money collection in the US, which will then be wired to the account in Poland. Our goal is to maximize the contributions of our US members, even small amounts that would normally preclude a wire transfer. We will be sending GoFundMe donations every week (or daily) as the donation collection reach milestones of $500.

If you or your Lodge would like to donate an amount that justifies a direct transfer to the Lodge in Poland, please reach John Reitzer-Smith, PNG/PCP (Dallas, TX) via email at jreitzersmith (a) gmail for the account info. Wire transfer fees are typically $15-30, so depending on your bank fees, that might mean a direct donation of $500 or more.

We thank you in advance for your contributions!

F.L.T., The IOOF Lodges of North Texas