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RivCo firefighters to fill boots with loot for MDA

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Firefighters throughout Riverside County will be out in force this weekend with boots in hand to help raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

The “Fill-the-Boot” campaign is in its fifth year in Riverside County and according to Riverside County Firefighter Stuart Sharp, it is well loved among the department.

 (File Photo: Yazmin Alvarez/SWRNN)

(File Photo: Yazmin Alvarez/SWRNN)

Firefighters will be stationed near major intersections throughout Riverside County on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

In Temecula, people will find Firefighters with boots outstretched at the Temecula Farmer’s Market on Saturday.

“This is such a great event for a good cause,” Sharp said. “The public is always very helpful and likes seeing us out there.”

Depending on traffic conditions, firefighters have been known to quickly educate passing motorists as to why there collecting funds and the cause behind the event.

The MDA is the only charity the International Association of Firefighters works with due in part to their low administration costs, Sharp said.

“This fundraiser does a lot of good for a lot of local families,” he explained. “All of the money raised in Riverside County stays in Riverside County.”

The event began in Boston in 1954 when a boy living down the street from a fire station was afflicted with a neuromuscular disease.

“Firefighters decided they needed to do something to help the family so they grabbed their boots and hit the streets asking for donations,” Sharp said.

The idea caught on and a tradition was born.

Coming up on 60 years of collecting money to help those afflicted with neuromuscular diseases puts a big smile on MDA spokeswoman Laura McNary’s face.

“In the five years MDA has been partnered with Cal Fire, over $2.8 million has been raised to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association,” McNary said.

There are 43 neuromuscular diseases that fall under the MDA umbrella.

The money goes to help clinics and also aids in research to help battle the different neuromuscular diseases.

“Firefighters are seen as heroes and to see these big guys out there helping in this way is extremely heartwarming,” McNary said. “They are heroes all the way.”

 

Stephanie D. Schulte is a writer/photographer with SWRNN. She can be reached at stephanie.schulte@swrnn.com.

The post RivCo firefighters to fill boots with loot for MDA appeared first on SWRNN.


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