Sports
Eleventh Butterfly Run Set for Saturday, April 23
Event held in honor of Great Valley High graduate who loved helping youngsters.
The sign stretches across King Street in Malvern every year around this time, announcing the upcoming “Butterfly Run.”
This rite of spring has nothing to do with Monarchs and Swallowtails lacing up their Nikes. Rather, it’s a 5K Run/Walk and One-Mile Fun Run that supports the Elizabeth Ciunci Foundation, which provides scholarships to students who plan to pursue a career in special education.
This year’s begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 23, starting and finishing at the high school. About 1,000 participants are expected, according to event coordinator Debbie Sproule. Two or three scholarships will be presented late next month, for between $6,000 and $9,000 total, said Jackie Ciunci, Elizabeth’s mother.
Find out what's happening in Malvernwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Elizabeth, a Great Valley High graduate, was killed by a drunk driver on Thanksgiving in 1999. An energetic 18-year-old, she studied early childhood education and was a freshman at Delaware County Community College when the accident occurred. To those who knew her, the butterfly imagery fits perfectly.
“Elizabeth always loved butterflies,” her mother said. “It’s like a sign of resurrection.
Find out what's happening in Malvernwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“We have a large family with a lot of runners. Many of us were together at a family reunion at Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, New York, where my nephew (Artie Summers) said to me, ‘Can you see it, Aunt Jac? The Butterfly Run in Malvern for Elizabeth.’ It was such a cool idea. We got started the following Spring when she was going to be 21.”
That inaugural run was held March 30, 2002, which would have been Elizabeth’s 21st birthday. In preparation, Jackie Ciunci, her husband, Michael, and sons Christopher and Michael established the foundation. Jackie said her daughter worked extensively at camps, counseling youngsters with Down syndrome, and that she had dedicated her life to helping young people. Her legacy will live on through the 14 scholarships that already have been presented, and countless more to come. The Butterfly Run has raised more than $300,000 in the past decade, Jackie said.
“These scholarships go to nice kids who do good things in their communities and want to help kids with disabilities,” she said. “We also look at need.”
Jackie said this is always a bittersweet time of year. Elizabeth would have turned 30 a couple of weeks ago. Special moments are recalled, and tears are shed.
“We have so many family members and friends, like Debbie Sproule, who have been with this event since the beginning,” Jackie said. “But it can be overwhelming. Everyone deals with grief in different ways. I think it’s important to love and forgive and remember how good people really are. Elizabeth was a special girl.
“I received a letter a few months ago from the man who killed Elizabeth. I was sad for me because Elizabeth is not with us, and I was sad for him because he’s still in prison and not with his family. He made a stupid mistake and wanted my forgiveness, and I forgave him.
“Elizabeth’s spirit is what this event is all about. I can be a facilitator, but it’s all her. And this has to continue because of who she was.”
Date: Saturday, April 23
Location: Great Valley High School
Times: Race Day registration starts at 7:30 a.m.
5K Run/Walk starts at 9 a.m.
1 Mile Fun Run starts at 9:05 a.m.
Starts at Great Valley High School, winds along residential roads and finishes back at the high school.
5k Awards:
1st place overall male and female: $200
2nd place overall male and female: $100
3rd place overall male and female: $50
This is the first year for Chrono Track Chip Timing (to ensure greater accuracy considering the number of professional runners who participate, according to event organizers).
