Green essay wins big scholarship

The Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy sponsored the nationwide student essay contest, open to enrolled university students. Students were asked to write at least a four-point renewable energy plan for the country, laying out a strategy for the next five to 10 years that will minimize our current dependence on non-renewable energy sources.

Finalists were chosen for the soundness and originality of their thinking, as well as their ability to present these ideas in a concise, persuasive and compelling manner.

Historical Society focuses on the firehouse

The Kensington Historical Society will highlight the history of the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department at 6:30 p.m., Thursday.

Residents Jean Ward and Juan Bofill will lead a tour of the fire department, at Connecticut Avenue and Plyers Mill Road, for all ages.

According to the club, Bofill will present a history of the station along with a slide show from the department’s archives.

For more information on the historical society, visit www.kensingtonhistory.org.

Racing for hope,father’s memory

Jimmy Ronan, 12, of Kensington, helped to raise more than $15,000 for the annual Race for Home for Brain Tumor Society on Sunday.

Jimmy and the team, the Roadrunners, first came together in 2004 with Jim Ronan who suffered from cancer and passed away that year.

The five-kilometer Race for Hope took place in Washington, D.C., with more than 7,000 runners, walkers and volunteers.

Last year, participants raised more than $1.5 million for brain tumor research and support services according to a press release.

Rebuilding Together helps fix Kensington home

More than 20 Daro Realty employees and local government officials fixed up the home of an 86-year-old Kensington resident.

With help from Kensington Mayor Peter Fosselman and Montgomery County Councilwoman Nancy Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park, volunteers cleaned and repaired the man’s home of more than 44 years.

On April 26, the volunteers repainted the exterior and interior, fixed the house plumbing system and refurbished the kitchen with new appliances and cabinets.

Rebuilding Together is a nonprofit group dedicated to helping elderly or disabled, low-income homeowners and families with children through home renovation and repair.

The organization’s goal is to keep people living in warmth, safety and independence while helping to build better communities.

Put those old jeansto good use

Christa Guild, an eighth-grader at Thomas W. Pyle Middle School, wants county residents to know that jeans can change people’s lives. But not in a way that you might think. Guild is helping to collect jeans for a denim drive sponsored by Cotton Inc. and Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County ReStore.

The jeans will be collected, transported to California, where the Allen Company donates their resources to bale the denim. It is then sent to JBM Fibers in Texas, which converts the denim back into cotton fiber. Then it goes to Arizona, where Bonded Logic, Inc. makes it into UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation, which Habitat for Humanity will use in new houses built in New Orleans and the Gulf region.

‘‘I’m working for [student service learning] hours this year and I found this idea online and wanted to get involved,” Guild said.

Guild coordinated a drop off spot at her school.

‘‘Already we have 114 jeans,” she said. We’re trying to get 500 because that’s how much it takes to insulate one house.”

Cotton Inc. partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County ReStore to bring the drive to Montgomery County for the first time this year, said Adeela Abbasi, marketing and communications manager with Habitat for Humanity ReStore. The goal for the county is to collect 2,500 pairs of jeans and insulate five homes, she said. Originally she hoped to use the jeans for insulation at Habitat for Humanity Homes in the county, but the houses currently under construction are past the insulation stage, she said. Instead, the insulation made from county jeans will most likely go to areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

‘‘We want to raise awareness of the need for affordable housing, not only in areas affected by such a large natural disaster, but right here in Montgomery County,” Abbasi said.

Drop off locations include:

*Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 9100 Gaither Road, Gaithersburg

*Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County, Construction Site, Linganore Woods, Burtonsville

*Walt Whitman High School, 7100 Whittier Boulevard, Bethesda

*Amicus Green Building Center, 4080A Howard Ave., Kensington

This column is for you. Share your good news! Feel free to send press releases and news tips. Contact Patrick Dunne via e-mail at pdunne@gazette.net, phone at 301-280-3005, fax at 301-670-7183, or snail mail at 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.