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Nicaragua Night 2013 Slated for January 26

(12/15) Project Gettysburg- León (PGL) will hold its annual Nicaragua Night and Auction on Saturday, January 26 at Gettysburg College's Hauser Field House. Doors open at 5 p.m. A buffet dinner will be served.

The Auction is PGL's main fundraiser of the year to support grassroots development projects in that Central American country. Auction items include getaway vacations, signature meals, artwork, fine Nicaraguan pottery, themed baskets, and a wide variety of services. Last year's event netted $45,000. This year's goal is $50,000, according to Joyce Ettenger, chairperson of this year's auction.

PGL has had a sister city relationship León, Nicaragua's second largest city, since 1985, and has been an official sister city of the Borough of Gettysburg since 1989. PGL has worked with urban and rural communities on dozens of sustainable projects such as health centers, maternity homes, potable water systems, house building, cafeteria additions to pre-schools, rural electrification, and the building and use of solar ovens and food dryers.

During 2012 PGL completed the construction of a $10,000 pre-school in Mt. Horet; worked with the Young Growers Alliance of Adams County to provide an extensionist and technical assistance to a rural community, Taolinga; and continued its longstanding support of Taller Xuchialt, an award-winning art school in the indigenous section of León. Artists from this school recently worked with pupils from Gettysburg’s Lincoln Elementary School to complete a mural. PGL also organizes Gettysburg’s annual Salsa on the Square in October to celebrate Latino contributions to Adams County.

Tickets can be reserved, and tax-deductible auction items donated, on the auction website: www.gettysburg-leon.org/pgl/index.cfm/auction. Full tables are also available for reservation. Those wishing to advertise in the auction booklet, read by approximately 600 auction attendees, can do so at www.gettysburg-leon.org/pgl/index.cfm/auction/advertise. Purchases of auction items are tax deductible.

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