Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Yesterday was National Boot Day, where the Fire Fighters (IAFF) and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) partner to raise funds for research and care for families living with muscular dystrophy, Lou Gehrig’s disease and related neuromuscular diseases. For 68 years, the IAFF and MDA have worked together to raise more than $679 million. National Boot Day kicks off more than 2,000 events to support the 300,000 families in the United States who live with these related diseases.
“Traditions are at the heart of the fire service, and MDA’s Fill the Boot, which the IAFF began in Boston over 60 years ago, is very dear and personal to me. With gratitude for the trust of the MDA family, the IAFF is taking to the streets throughout the United States and Canada to Fill the Boot once again. The pandemic has taken its toll on MDA fundraising, and we need to double our efforts,” said IAFF General President Edward Kelly. “The kids need us, and MDA is ringing the bell.”
“Our partners at IAFF have been a vital part of the MDA family in communities across America for decades. We are forever grateful to IAFF for maintaining their strong commitment to the Fill the Boot program,” said Donald S. Wood, president and CEO of MDA. “Thanks to fire fighters filling the boot for decades, the pipeline of promise is growing and creating hope [for] a longer, more independent life for the millions of people and their families who are at the heart of MDA’s mission.”