Every Dog Has Its Day!

The Maple Glen Community Association recently hosted the 5th Annual Shirley’s 5K Run and 1 Mile Dog Walk at the Maple Manor Swim Club. The event featured enthusiastic runners and dogs and their owners who braved the heat to honor the memory of Shirley Schriftman, an animal lover and active member of the community. The event raised funds for the Shirley Schriftman Fund for Animals, which supports animal rescue and service animal training organizations throughout Montgomery County, Pa.

The results of the race are as follows:

Male winners:

• First Place, Matt Fields of Flourtown with a time of 19:35
• Second Place, Vitaly Belotserkovsky of Ivyland with a time of 19:41
• Third Place, Paul Montini of Huntingdon Valley with a time of 19:49

Female winners:

• First Place, Madeline Spaulding of Willow Grove with a time of 22:11
• Second Place, Sara Smith of Oreland with a time of 22:27
• Third Place, Anabelle Broadbent of Perkasie with a time of 22:37

Men's Master winner was Vitaly Belotserkovsky

Female’s Master winner was Anabelle Broadbent

Female team award went to the Upper Dublin Womens' Cross Country Team

Male team award went to the Greater Philadelphia Track Club

Most finishers from a running club went to the Ambler Area Running Club.

“This 5K Run and Dog Walk is a very special event that honors the memory of my mother,” said Ross Schriftman, Shirley’s son and director of Shirley's Run. "Because she gave so much to her community, we want celebrate her legacy while raising funds to support causes that were near and dear to her heart."

About Shirley’s Run:

The Shirley’s Run 5K is an out and back course on gradual rolling hills and flats traveling on neighborhood roads in Maple Glen. Starting at the Maple Manor Swim Club on Dillon Road and going out to Howe Lane at Welsh Road and returning. It is a great

course for top runners to have a challenging but fast opportunity to achieve a personal best, as well as for first timers to experience a 5K run. To learn more, go to www.shirleysrun.org

About Shirley Schriftman:

Shirley Schriftman was born in Springfield, MA in 1925 and settled in Maple Glen, PA after she was married. She accomplished many things in her lifetime. During World War II, she was a Spanish translator for the State Department, a USO Hostess and visited wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. She married Herbert Schriftman of Brooklyn, NY and they raised four sons: Roy, Ross, Lee and Barry. Schriftman was a six-time grandmother and a six-time great grandmother.

During her working career she was Assistant to the Dean of College Affairs at Temple University, a foreign language aide at the North Campus of Abington High School, as well as a documentation specialist for Univac Corporation.

Schriftman was also involved with Parents Without Partners and organized the Bucks/Mont chapter. She was active in her synagogue and chaired efforts to secure the release of Jews from the former Soviet Union in the 1970’s and 1980’s and helped these persons settle in the Philadelphia area.

Throughout her life, Schriftman was a lover of animals and had many dogs and cats that were her companions. She was also a big supporter of running. Schriftman attended many races that her sons Ross and Lee participated in over the years. She died at home of complications related to Alzheimer’s Disease in October 2009

Photo courtesy of Griff Francis

Photo Caption:

Two Dogs.jpg: These two canines were eager to participate in the dog walk portion of the Shirley’s 5K Run and 1 Mile Dog Walk. The event was hosted by the Maple Glen Community Association and raised funds for the Shirley Schriftman Fund for Animals, which supports animal rescue and service animal training organizations throughout Montgomery County, Pa.