The Second Annual Danielle Bledy Memorial 5K run, 1-mile fun walk and kids’ dash will be held at Cherry Hill East High School on Sunday, May 31. Proceeds benefit D’s Dawgs children’s charity, established in memory of Danielle, a cherished 13-year-old Cherry Hill girl, known affectionately as “D,” whose sudden and tragic death in December 2006 resulted from a brain aneurysm.
The event features a brand new, USATF-certified 5-kilometer course. The spectator-friendly route, revamped since last year, starts and finishes at Cherry Hill East on Kresson Road in Cherry Hill and the course traverses nearby neighborhoods before ending back at the high school.
The event is held each year in honor of D’s birthday on June 2. Danielle was a unique girl with beautiful hazel eyes and a beaming smile. She loved to play basketball and she loved animals, especially dogs. She planned to become a veterinarian. She was a joy to her family and never had an unkind word or deed for anyone.
D’s Dawgs is a registered 501(c) (3) charity her family established to support Danielle’s passions — basketball and animals — and to fund research into brain aneurysms in children, the silent killer that took D’s life. The mascot was drawn by Danielle herself, and represents her dog Jake.
D’s Dawgs has donated funds toward pediatric brain aneurysm research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where D spent her final days. The charity has also funded scholarships to send local children to basketball camp and to Great Times Day Camp in Winslow, which matched the scholarship by providing one of its own. In addition, a “Peace Garden” has been established at Beck Middle School, where D was in eighth grade at the time of her death, as a place where students and community members can find a few minutes of serenity during their hectic days. This year a Scholarship is being set up at Cherry Hill High School East in Danielle’s memory for a student pursuing Veterinary medicine.
Major sponsors include LYQUIX information technology services, Joseph Levine & Sons Memorial Chapels, Great Times Day Camps, Wegmans of Cherry Hill, Ben Kramer Photography, and P. Neuman NYC Caterers.
For D’s parents, Wayne and Carol Bledy, her brother Mark, and her sisters, Lisa and Laurie, the event is a way to honor their D’s precious memory and keep it alive, while bringing happiness and hope to the lives of children in need.
For more information and to register, visit www.dsdawgs.org.
