Firefighters Raising Funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association During the Holidays

Add Feedback

Share |

Since 1954, professional firefighters across the United States have been doing their part to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The partnership between the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) and the MDA began when Boston firefighter George Graney and 20 of his fellow firefighters took to the neighborhoods of their community going door to door to collect money for the family of Charley Crowley, a high school friend of Graney's whose two children had forms of Muscular Dystrophy. Realizing how effective firefighters could be in raising funds for deserving causes, Graney approached the leaders of the IAFF to make collecting for the MDA a nationwide cause, and during the union's 22nd Annual Convention in Miami he suggested the MDA be named the IAFF's charity of choice. The membership enthusiastically approved this, beginning a long partnership between two strong organizations.

Since then, the International Association of Firefighters reports that they have raised over $275 million for "Jerry's Kids" in the United States and Canada, making them the biggest sponsor of the MDA's Labor Day Telethon. According to the IAFF, 2006 was their record year, with $23.5 million in donations, which fund research, medical equipment, support and activities for those inflicted with these neuromuscular diseases. According to Brandy Offutt of the MDA's Orange County and Inland Empire Chapter, "The Muscular Dystrophy Association covers 43 neuromuscular diseases. We have found a cure for one of them, Pompe Disease, and that is through the research money that has come from the MDA and from programs like this." She estimates that in 2008 alone, California firefighters gave $1 million to the MDA through their fundraising efforts.

Firefighters host many types of events to raise money for the MDA, but one of the most well-known is "Fill the Boot", where they stand in busy intersections or at shopping centers with a rubber fire boot and ask passersby to throw money in. Many fire departments do their "Fill the Boot" campaign during the Spring, as the weather is optimum for standing outdoors; however, the Murrieta Fire Department in Riverside County, California, chose to hold theirs in December during the holiday season. They decided to do this with the idea that people are often in a giving mood during the holidays. In 2007, the Murrieta Firefighter's Association raised $20,000 for the MDA, and this year, they hope to match and possibly exceed the figure, although they realize that the struggling economy will mostly likely impact their fundraising efforts.

Echoing this Captain Richard Martinez says, "We know that financial times are tough, so we're really not expecting to get a huge amount. We'd like to be able to get the same as we did last year. It would be nice if we could get every person in Murrieta to donate a quarter. That would be great…Whatever we get, we're truly thankful for and it will go to a good cause."

Despite the economic downturn in the United States, people are still finding it in their hearts to donate. Captain Mike Ramos, President of the Murrieta Firefighters Association, described a story of a homeless man who approached one of the firefighters in the intersection where they were collecting and asked what the firefighters were doing. He explained to the man that they were raising money for "Jerry's Kids". The man asked the firefighter approximately how much was in the boot at that point, and he told him that there was about $100 in it. The homeless man proceeded to take a $100 bill from his wallet and put it in the boot. Ramos says, "That just goes to show what kind of humanity we have out there, people that are less fortunate that are still willing to dig deep and give on their own."

For more information about the partnership between the International Association of Firefighters and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, click here.