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Clean Currents, an energy company in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia, donated $1,200 to the Greenbelt Community Foundation on behalf of Greenbelt Homes Inc. and other Greenbelt residents, the first to successfully complete the 45-day Green Neighborhood Effect Program.

Members of GHI Inc., a housing cooperative, were able to get 70 out of 1,600 households to switch from traditional power sources to wind power through word-of-mouth, community newsletters and a community meeting, said Matt Berres, manager of maintenance operations for GHI Inc.

Under the Green Neighborhood Effect Program, Clean Currents donates $10 to a green project of the community's choice for each household that makes the switch within 45 days.

"We really felt Greenbelt Community Foundation was a philanthropy that serves the Greenbelt community by supporting a lot of green and civic projects — we thought they were a great fit," Berres said.

Sylvia Lewis, co chair of the Greenbelt Community Foundation, said the organization is still determining which project they will use the donation for and plans to announce the project in December.

Clean Currents has helped 400 commercial organizations and 4,000 residents switch to green power.

"The Green Neighborhood Effect Program will help get the word out to neighborhoods, and we donate to their green community projects to give back to the community for making the switch," said Kristi Neidhardt, Residential Green Power Program Manager. Neidhardt said using wind power technology supplied from wind farms across the country will help reduce the carbon footprint and is less expensive than traditional power.

Neighborhoods that want to participate in the Green Neighborhood Effect Program must switch to wind power within the 45-day challenge period and use the funds donated by Clean Currents for a community green project that will be completed by Earth Day on April 25.

For more information on the program, contact Neidhardt at 301-754-0430, Ext. 712, or visit

www.cleancurrents.com.

Vansville Elementary

students honored

Twenty-six students at Vansville Elementary School in Beltsville were honored by the school in accordance with its Character Education word of the month program.

The school's word of the month for September was "responsibility," and the winners were selected by their teachers for exhibiting responsible behavior. The students each received a certificate and pencil.

Winners for September were HeadStart student Aderinsola Jibodu; pre-kindergartners Dawgmawi Getachew and Morgan Beck; kindergartners Alsion Kunzwiler, Aryan Kalathiya, Makayla Cunningham and Kayti Palacios; first-graders Iman Abdi, Ianna Anotado, Angelo Salvador and Tiffany Whitlock; second-graders Alexis London, Ashley Nguyen, Samantha Bailor and Amanda Huyn; third-graders Jade Thompson, George Kuzhikat, Darshan Patel and Brittany Okeke; fourth-graders Brenda LaTorre, Nylaya Cherichel, Kenechukwu Azinge and Aryba Qureshi; fifth-grader Cederick Lassiter and sixth-graders Kevin Nguyen and Oluchi Ike.

Mount Rainier hosts

annual autumn festival

The Mount Rainier Autumn Festival will not only celebrate the season, but also the 40th anniversary of the Glut Food Co-Op, an organic food cooperative in the city.

The event, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, will feature face painting, local live music performers, martial arts demonstrations and other activities. It will be held rain or shine along 34th Street between Bunker Hill Road and Shepherd Street. Call 503-516-6672 or e-mail ewalenza@gmail.com.

King Middle salutes Renaissance Roll recipients

Twelve students at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Beltsville were named to the school's weekly Renaissance Roll on Oct. 15.

The Renaissance Roll program honors students who exhibit good citizenship and academic achievement. Each nominee is given a "Renaissance Living the Dream" card, which is then placed in a weekly drawing.

Prizes this week were pens, pencils, hats and pouches.

The winners were Amrita Ahuja, Danielle Dyson, Taylor Roar, Austin Slaght, Erin Guzman, Mary Heng, Daved La Torre, Charles Norris, Genesis Baez, Benjamin Browning, Cynthia Guevara and Gwendolyn Yates.

Free blues festival

in College Park

The D.C. Blues Society will host the College Park Blues Festival on Saturday at Ritchie Coliseum in College Park.

The festival will be held from 7 to 11:30 p.m. at the arena, which located near the intersection of Baltimore Avenue and Rossborough Drive. Admission is free, and food and drinks will be available for purchase.

Scheduled acts include the Mississippi-based teenage trio Homemade Jamz' Blues Band, the D.C. Blues Society Band and Big Boy Little, winner of the DCBS Battle of the Bands. The festival will raise funds to send Big Boy Little to the International Blue Challenge in January in Memphis, Tenn.

For more information, visit www.dcblues.org.

Hyattsville's dog park holds opening fair and canine carnival

The Heurich Dog Park in Hyattsville opened in September, but will hold a grand opening fair and canine carnival from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the park at corner of Ager Road and Nicholson Street. Dog rescue groups, trainers, dog art, contests and dog demonstrations will all be a part of the festivities. To volunteer, e-mail sara@his.com.

Elvis is back to raise money for Sons of American Legion

Join Sons of American Legion Squadron 136, Elvis impersonator Johnny Seaton and his band in raising money for SAL youth programs at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 21 at the American Legion Post 136 on 6900 Greenbelt Road.

Seaton will perform as Elvis all night to raise money for programs and organizations that SAL supports, such as Maryland Special Olympics, Casey Cares, Greenbelt Little League Baseball, Toys for Tots, Fisher House and Charlotte Hall Veterans Home.

At the last fundraiser in March, SAL and Seaton raised more than $4,150, which was donated to the Maryland Hemophilia Foundation.

Preparing for the festival

of lights and holiday market

The Riverdale Park Festival of Lights and Holiday Market will be from noon to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Riverdale Park Town Center at 6200 Rhode Island Ave. The organizers are currently taking applications from interested craft vendors and volunteers. The event will include a town-wide contest for the home with the best holiday decorations. Volunteers are needed to help decorate the indoor venue, dress as singing elves for trolley tours, compete in a bake-off and other tasks. Contact Jim Coleman at 301-332-6528 or e-mail

jcolema3@aol.com.