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Congregation Har Shalom in Potomac staged a baby shower May 23 for the wife of a Montgomery County police officer who died in the line of duty in April.

Officer Hector Ayala left behind a wife, pregnant with triplets, and a 14-month-old son. Last fall, Ayala helped provide security for the synagogue during its High Holy Day services. Not only did the congregation have a personal connection, but they were touched by the story of the Ayala family, congregant Barbara Kaplowitz said.

"A lot of the conversations were just about how sad it was that the widow is not only grieving, but she's going to have four children under the age of 2," Kaplowitz said. "... We wanted to offer support and do anything we can to help her."

Members of the congregation donated diapers, clothes, toiletries, toys, equipment, gift cards and money to the family. The shower was staged as part of the Ilene Abrams Spring Mitzvah Day program and also fulfilled a religious mandate to support widows and orphans.

"I just think it touched a chord with our community just as it did with the general population," Kaplowitz said. "Everyone who came talked about how they felt they were glad they were able to at least do something to help."

Partying for a cause

Four Robert Frost Middle School sixth-graders recently teamed up to collect items for the homeless, in lieu of birthday gifts.

The four girls banded together to celebrate their 12th birthdays, but rather than asking for presents, they collected more than $1,300 in donations and gift cards to Giant, Safeway, Target, CVS and Toys ‘R Us; along with toiletries and sports equipment to donate to the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless.

The girls — Sara Keller, Emma Strauss, Shelbie Fishman and Lindsey Capitelli — decided to organize the donations as they were hatching ideas for service projects for their upcoming bat mitzvahs. They also plan on bringing a prepared meal to the coalition's Men's Emergency Shelter.

The envelope please ...

The results are in, and the winners of the Bethesda Painting Awards have been announced. The coveted "Best in Show" award — carrying with it a prize of $10,000 — went to Nora Sturges of Baltimore. Second place went to Katherine Mann of Washington, D.C., who received $2,000, and Deborah Ellis of Alexandria, Va., who received $1,000.

The nine artists selected as finalists also included Deborah Addison Coburn of Rockville; Sheila Blake of Takoma Park; James Halloran of Arlington, Va.; Lindsay McCulloch of Chevy Chase; Michele Montalbano of Burke, Va.; and Carol Phifer of Fredericksburg, Va.

The work of the nine finalists will be on display through June 26 at Fraser Gallery, 7700 Wisconsin Ave., Suite E, Bethesda. A public opening is set for 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at the gallery, in conjunction with Bethesda Art Walk.

A pirate adventure at Imagination Stage

Help Imagination Stage celebrate its 30th anniversary. The downtown Bethesda theater is playing host to a free Pirate Treasure Hunt, planned for 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda.

Children are encouraged to dress the part of swashbuckling seafarers as they take part in pirate-themed activities such as singing sea shanties, learning pirate moves with foam swords and following messages in bottles to a stash of treasure.

The event is in honor of the theater's pirate-themed performances running in repertory this summer — "How I Became a Pirate" and "Pirates! A Boy at Sea." The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited. Call the box office at 301-280-1660 to reserve a spot.

Kensington summer concert series kicks off

The Kensington Historical Society's free summer concert series begins this week with a performance by Dixieland Express on Saturday.

The concerts are all scheduled to be held in the Howard Avenue Park, near the Farmer's Market on Howard Avenue in Kensington from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays throughout the summer.

For more information on the concerts and a list of performers, visit www.kensingtonhistory.org.

Heritage Montgomery honored

The Heritage Tourism Alliance of Montgomery County received an award in May for its yearly Heritage Days event.

The Germantown nonprofit was honored for preservation service at the 35th annual Maryland Preservation Awards, given out by the Maryland Historical Trust's Board of Trustees, on May 21. Heritage Montgomery was created by state and county officials to promote the area's natural and historic resources, and was singled out for Heritage Days, a two-day event scheduled for the last weekend in June.

The event was started by the Montgomery County Historical Society in 1998, and has been organized by Heritage Montgomery since 2004, according to a statement from the Maryland Historical Trust. The free, self-guided tour of the county's historic, cultural and natural resources now has more than 40 participating sites.

"Aggressive marketing efforts and strategic partnerships has resulted in increased attendance at Heritage Days events and heightened awareness of the role of historic sites and heritage tourism on the region's economy," the historical trust said.

The 13th annual Heritage Days will be noon to 4 p.m. June 26 and 27. For more information, visit www.heritagemontgomery.org.

Send a child to camp

Help Linkages to Learning send needy children to camp this summer.

With an average cost of $200 per week, Linkages to Learning has seen a growing number of families who need help to send their children to summer camp. Donors can sponsor a child for a full or partial camp scholarship, or check with employers or local organizations about establishing a matching donation program.

Mail donations to Linkages to Learning, 51 Monroe St., 17th floor, Rockville, MD 20850. Deadline for donations is July 1.

For information, contact Haifa Peter at 240-777-1291 or Haifa.peter@montgomerycountymd.gov or visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/linkages/index.html.

Police target aggressive drivers

The Montgomery County Police Department is joining its counterparts throughout the state and in Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., for the 2010 "Smooth Operator" Aggressive Driving Prevention Campaign.

For one week each in June, July and August and two weeks in September, officers will be looking for motorists who are speeding, tailgating, making unsafe lane changes and running traffic lights and signs.

The campaign kicked off Sunday and runs through Saturday. The campaign will resume July 4-10, Aug. 1-7 and Sept. 5-18.

Volunteer at Brookside

Student volunteers are needed for Brookside Gardens' ‘Wings of Fancy' butterfly and caterpillar exhibit.

The exhibit's 14th season features Asian, Costa Rican and North American butterflies flying freely in the Brookside Gardens South Conservatory, 1500 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton.

Student volunteers will earn Student Service Learning hours for participating.

Volunteer positions include: Flight attendants: share information about butterflies with visitors and help keep butterflies from escaping; Information specialists): greet visitors, explain exhibit rules and collect tickets; and Tour guides: share information about butterflies with scheduled groups and lead tours.

For information, call 301-962-1429 or e-mail mcp-gardenvolunteer@mncppc-mc.org. Visit www.brooksidegardens.org.

Share your good news! Send Bethesda/Chevy Chase items to Erin Donaghue via e-mail at edonaghue@gazette.net; send Kensington/Garrett Park items to Alex Ruoff at aruoff@gazette.net. Send items to them both via fax at 301-670-7183 or snail mail to 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877. Don't forget to send us photos!