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Amistad gives amistad and scholarship funds to Terra

Fremont OH: Members of a local group have been organizing dances, campouts and other social activities since 1987. They get to have fun while some area students get the benefit of money for college.

Amistad, which means “friendship” in Spanish, is a group of six area couples who have been friends since they were teen-agers. They now sponsor a dance each year and raise enough money to make donations to area colleges for student scholarships.

Ramiro Martinez (R) hands a check to Terra's Sue Babione while Juanita Sanchez (Assistant Dir. of the Terra Foundation) and Fernando Costilla look on.

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Terra students have shared in Amistad’s generosity since 1996. To date, the group has contributed approximately $8,500 to the Amistad Scholarship Endowment Fund at Terra. Fernando Costilla and Ramiro Martínez delivered the most recent contribution of $500 Wednesday.

 Bob Valle of Gibsonburg, one of the original members, says the most important thing is that they are able to get together and also help others at the same time. Their fall event begins with a Friday evening campout at Meadowbrook in Bascom, and continues with a Saturday evening dance attended by more than 300 people.

The six couples who started the organization are all from this area and include: Valle and his wife, Amelia; Martínez and his wife, Carol, of Fostoria; Al and Gloria VanCoppenalle of Toledo; Clyde and Dora López of Oregon; and Ramiro and Anita Almaguer and Costilla and his wife, Mary, all of Fremont.

 For more information on the College Foundation, contact Sue Babione, Executive Director of the Foundation and Resource Development, at 419-334-8400, ext. 301.