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2006 News and Events

Our Recent Auction

On Sept 23rd, 2006 we had a PARTY! We pulled out all the stops and once again had a Latin Lobster Feed for 200 of our luckiest supporters at the Sutter Home Winery. With last years incredible fund raiser in our memory, we had some big shoes to fill and some big numbers to surpass.

This year’s event didn’t disappoint! We had VERY generous donors who made the auction lots more special than ever. We had an Ireland Golf Package, Nicaraguan travel packages, sailing packages, cooking classes at Cakebread, biking packages, incredible Harlan, Sloan, Bond, Caymus, and David Arthur wine lots – lots that you will not find anywhere else. Paired with the generous Donors, we were blessed with VERY Generous BIDDERS to make the event a smashing success. When the night was over – and it was a raucous night – we had a total of $400,000 raised for the project!!!

It was a magical night for all who were in attendance. The energy was electric, the emotion was on overdrive, and our supporters wanted to Give. Fritz Hatton was a master auctioneer and kept the magic going for almost 2 hours. Our “masterpiece movie” started the evening with a message of progress, we’re making tremendous progress! Our friends wanted to give, and give they did.

Not only was it a tremendous success financially, but a tremendous success on all other levels – we had a great time and our friend walked away proud to be a part of making a difference in this world.

When you see a need – fill it. Thank you all for making this magical night a smashing success – 2007 will be a dynamite year for us!

Inauguration

On June 23rd 2006, we moved in 22 more families into new homes!! It was Mothers Day in Nicaragua and the timing was perfect, the gift couldn’t have been sweeter for all the mothers who were receiving houses on this day. A gringo group of 17 went to Nicaragua for the event and, as always, the emotions ran high all week. We arrived to a welcome party, the bands and the smiles. We had lots of preparation to do for the big day but when that day came, it was all smiles and words of encouragement for the new homeowners.

We have a total of 42 families living in this project, with space to build 25 more. It’s turned into a real community, a “colonia,” that we had always envisioned. They attend regular monthly meetings, they have regular homeowner and neighborhood complaints, and they are learning to live independently from a life time of dependency.

This is what it’s all about – this is the day they work for. It’s a big step, a giant Leap of Faith.