Published: June 30, 2009 09:37 pm      

Firefighters to 'Fill the Boot' for MDA

PALESTINE — Most Americans see the Fourth of July as a time to celebrate freedom through cookouts and fireworks.

Local firefighters see it another way — as a chance to raise money in the fight for a cure for the non-profit Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Members of the Palestine Fire Department will have boots in hand gathering donations Saturday afternoon and evening around Story Elementary School, the Palestine YMCA and Christ Community Church on N. Loop 256 prior to the start of the city’s annual fireworks display.

“As people come in, they’ll be given the opportunity to donate to MDA,” said Jeff Cooper, president of Local 3493, the PFD’s chapter of the International Association of Firefighters. “We’ll shut down about 30 minutes to an hour before the fireworks start.”

According to the MDA, “Fill the Boot” began 55 years ago when firefighters raised $5,000 with a canister drive after a father of two sons with muscular dystrophy sought their help. Since then, “Fill the Boot” has spread nationwide, raising over $300 million for MDA.

Last year in East Texas, firefighters raised over $94,000. According to MDA figures, approximately 400 families in East Texas are affected by neuromuscular diseases.

MDA uses the funds raised to research the causes and cures for 43 neuromuscular diseases, providing support groups, a clinic at the University of Texas Health and Sciences Center, diagnostic testing, wheelchairs and leg braces, summer camp for children ages 6 to 17 and ongoing worldwide research.

MDA relies solely on donations from individuals and corporations. It does not receive grant funding and does not seek payment from the patients it serves, said Meredith Honeycutt, district director for MDA in East Texas.

Although Palestine firefighters had participated in “Fill the Boot” in the past, Cooper said, it’s been several years since the last local campaign, held outside Kroger. That effort raised $1,000.

Firefighters think they can do more in the fight for a cure.

“I’d really planned on doing this later in the year but several guys mentioned that there would be between 10,000 and 15,000 people at the fireworks show and they’d have to come through (entrances to park),” Cooper said. “If everybody gave $1, we’d raise $10,000 to $15,000.”

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Beth Foley may be contacted via e-mail at bfoley@palestineherald.com