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A Thomas S. Wootton High School graduate is getting set to take to the saddle for an international equestrian competition in Hong Kong this summer, but he needs the community's support in order to make the journey.

Derek Alvey, 20, currently an engineering major at Montgomery College, was chosen to be one of the four Pony Club riders who will represent the United States in the Inter-Pacific Exchange. The competition pits U.S. riders in the Pony Club — an international organization with several local chapters geared at equestrians aged 5-25 — against riders from nine other countries, including New Zealand, Canada, Australia and Japan.

Alvey and his brother Andrew, 19, are both longtime members of the Seneca Valley Pony Club, according to his mother, Julie Priddy. Both of her sons got an early start in the saddle, she said.

"I was a single mom and I had grown up riding, so the only way I could go on trail rides was to take my two young sons with me," Priddy said. The two boys would follow along on ponies as she rode, she said. "We would ride around North Potomac before it was too built up to do that."

Since then, both boys have become active members of the Seneca Valley Pony Club, Priddy said.

Alvey came out on top among Pony Club riders throughout the nation who applied for the competition, which originated in Australia in 1964. This year, the U.S. riders will meet in New Jersey for a week of training before flying to Hong Kong on July 23. The competition will span a week, and riders will demonstrate their skills in dressage, show jumping and cross country. Their return to the United States is planned for Aug. 8, after several days of touring mainland China.

"It's kind of a neat thing to see that something that's been a part of your life for such a long time can take you to an international competition," Priddy said. "I don't think he ever thought that was a possibility."

Priddy, however, is asking for community support to raise the $4,000 necessary for her son's trip. A single mother, Priddy's business at her design and remodeling company has slowed due to the economic downturn, and she is struggling to pull together the funds.

In order to make a tax-deductible donation to Alvey's trip, send contributions to the Seneca Valley Pony Club, Attn: Nancy Jones, 18800 Lake Placid Lane, Germantown, MD, 20874. Be sure to include "Derek Alvey" in the memo line. For more information about the Inter-Pacific Exchange, visit www.ie.ponyclub.org.

The Shred is back!

The Friends of the Clara Barton Community Center are once again organizing a community paper shredding event that may just help protect you against identity theft. The party, known as "The Grateful Shred," will take place from 9 a.m. to noon, June 13, at the Clara Barton Community Center, located at 7425 MacArthur Boulevard in Cabin John. Residents are invited to bring their leftover bills, statements and letters to the center so that they can be destroyed securely by ALL-SHRED, a Frederick-based firm that provides mobile shredding trucks. The trucks are equipped with cross-cut shredders that cur pages into tiny paper chips, which are then baled and sent on to be recycled. Voluntary suggested donations are $5 per one cubic foot box of paper, $3 per half box and $2 per quarter box. Excess paper can also be stored in paper bags. Staples, paper clips, rubber bands, folders, binder clips, hanging folders with metal strips and labels may also be shredded along with paper, though non-shreddable materials include newspapers, three-ring binders, cardboard, heavy plastic, heavy metals, boxes, trash, floppy disks and compact discs. For more information, call the Clara Barton Community Center at 301-229-0010.

Group for parents of multiples celebrates 50 years

Fifty years ago, a group of parents with twins and triplets got together and formed a group where they could go for support, to share ideas and socialize with other families facing the same unique challenges of having multiples.

Today, that group, Montgomery Parents of Multiples has grown, but the mission to provide support and socialization for families with twins, triplets and more remains the same, said group President Lisa Reichmann.

"The purpose and the benefits that members get are really the same as 50 years ago," she said. "Parents of multiples face unique challenges and it really helps to have people who have been there, done that, or to talk to people who are going through the same thing."

At 7:30 tonight, the group is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary at 7:30 at Tragara restaurant, 4935 Cordell Ave., in Bethesda. The guest of honor is Chef Geoff Tracy of the Chef Geoff restaurants in Washington, D.C. and Lia's in Chevy Chase. Tracy and wife, Norah O'Donnell, MSNBC news chief Washington correspondent, are parents of twins plus one.

When the group first started in 1959, about 30 people came to the first meeting. By the end of that year, the membership had grown to over 100, said Reichmann, a Gaithersburg resident and mom of twins and a singleton. Today, there are 489 member families, with 90 percent of them from Montgomery County and about 10 percent from the District.

Several alumni and past presidents of the group are expected to attend tonight's celebration, including the 1965 group president who was also a founding member.

"The club has grown with more multiples around, for a number of reasons," Reichmann said, "but the need for the club hasn't really changed."

Help for the hungry

Long and Foster Real Estate is organizing a community service picnic from 11a.m. to 2p.m., June 3, under the slogan of "You feed the hungry, and we'll feed you." The group will be collecting donations of non-perishable food for the Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington, a nonprofit group geared to help the homeless. As they collect food and donations for the needy, Long and Foster representatives will be grilling up hot dogs and hamburgers in the parking lot of the group's Potomac office at 10244 River Road. For more information, call 301-983-0060.

 Community bartenders donate tips to charity

Community members from the River's Edge neighborhood, located close to River Road and Travilah Road, banded together last week to support local businesses and local charities.

Following along with a program called "Bartender for a Night," launched by Potomac resident and event planner Patty Daniels in conjunction with Old Angler's Inn, the event brings in local community members and business owners to bartend for an evening in an effort to draw in more customers to the iconic restaurant, located along the Potomac river. On Thursday, River's Edge residents David Shaw, Stefan Lalos, and John Smith all stepped behind the bar to support Angler's and to collect tips to donate to charities.

The tips benefitted the Children's Inn at the National Institutes of Health, along with Community Girls, a program started by North Potomac resident Laurie Parr that encourages children to get involved with giving back to their community. The neighborhood is considering making the event an annual tradition.

Are you a Survivor?

Sign up now for a chance to showcase your wilderness savvy during a day-long, family-friendly adventure known as Survivor: Potomac Islands, organized by the River Center at Lockhouse 8. The River Center, run through the conservation group the Potomac Conservancy, is located at 7906 Riverside Ave., along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Cabin John.

The action-packed day will take place from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on June 20 on Minnie's Island and along the Potomac River, and will feature events including canoeing, orienteering, fire building and knot tying. The day will also include team-based competitions and children ages 8 and over, along with their parents, will be able to take part in instructional and informational workshops. A lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs will be provided, though participants should bring along other refreshments, along with necessities like sun screen and bug spray. Canoes will be available, though participants are encouraged to bring their own. Space is limited so sign up soon! RSVP to chapin@potomac.org by June 18.

This column is for you. Send press releases, news tips and other information to Erin Donaghue by phone to 301-280-3007, by e-mail edonaghue@ gazette.net, by fax to 301-670-7183 or by mail to 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.