A special kick off event for the annual Fill the Boot fundraising campaign is being hosted by members of the Lubbock Fire Rescue and Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 972, along with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), to free individuals – and the families who love them – from the harm of muscular dystrophy, ALS and related life-threatening diseases that take away physical strength, independence and life.
The kick-off event on May 18th at Lubbock Fire Rescue Station 1 located at 19th and Texas at 9:00 a.m. continues this honored IAFF tradition after more than 60 years of providing constant ambition and loyalty to help give individuals the strength to live longer and grow stronger.
Special guests include IAFF Local 972 President, Todd Jordan, Lubbock Fire and Rescue Chief Shaun Fogerson, Lubbock Fire and Rescue Firefighter specializing in dive team operations and our 2017 Fill the Boot Coordinator, Kasey Davis, and Battalion 1 Division Chief and Lubbock Fire Rescue Public Information officer, Steve Holland.
“The members of the Lubbock Fire Rescue and Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 972 display an unwavering support for MDA as they raise critical funds to help our families get the strength and resources they need,” said MDA Area Director, Chelsea Nichols. “We are so proud to kick off the 2017 Fill the Boot campaign with these first-responders who mirror the strength and nobility of MDA families who strive to live unlimited every day.”
On May 18th at 10:00am, this year’s Fill the Boot campaign will officially begin. Please come see these heroes in action – and encourage your friends and family to join in – at the intersections of 34th and West Loop, Slide and South Loop, 50th and Indianda and United located on 82nd and Frankford and United Marketstreet’s located at 98th and Quaker and 19th and Quaker, May 18th, 19th, and 20th, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
More than 400 members of the Lubbock Fire Rescue and Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 972 will greet motorists on the street and shoppers and others outside the stores all over the city, asking them to make a donation to support MDA’s mission of funding research to accelerate treatments and cures, as well as caring and empowering kids and adults from day one so they can thrive.
Funds raised through 2017 Lubbock Fill the Boot events help MDA’s efforts to fund groundbreaking research and life-enhancing programs such as state-of-the-art support groups and Care Centers. They also help send more than a dozen local kids to a life-changing experience in an environment without barriers at MDA Summer Camp at Plains Baptist Assembly Campgrounds in Floydada, Texas – all at no cost to their families.
MDA and IAFF Partnership
As MDA’s largest national partner, the IAFF fuels MDA’s mission to find research breakthroughs across diseases; care for kids and adults from day one; and provide families with services and support IAFF support for MDA began in 1954 when the organization committed by proclamation to support MDA until a cure is found, and the organization’s unwavering commitment to MDA has remained strong to this day. The IAFF raised $100,000 for MDA in 1955, and $1 million in 1970, and fire fighters continue to raise the bar in their fundraising efforts. In 2016, more than 100,000 fire fighters participated in Fill the Boot events across the country and raised more than $24 million. To date the IAFF has raised more than $607 million for MDA.
About the IAFF
The International Association of Fire Fighters represents more than 300,000 professional fire fighters and paramedics who protect 85 percent of the nation’s population. More than 3,200 affiliates and their members protect communities in every state in the United States and in Canada.
About MDA
MDA is leading the fight to free individuals — and the families who love them — from the harm of muscular dystrophy, ALS and related muscle-debilitating diseases that take away physical strength, independence and life. We use our collective strength to help kids and adults live longer and grow stronger by finding research breakthroughs across diseases; caring for individuals from day one; and empowering families with services and support in hometowns across America. Learn how you can fund cures, find care and champion the cause at mda.org.
(News release from MDA – West Texas)
