International Association of Fire Fighters Launch Fill the Boot Virtual Fundraiser for Muscular Dystrophy Association

IAFF and MDA create touchless Fill the Boot to continue funding research for treatments and cures for muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related neuromuscular diseases amid the pandemic.

News provided by

Muscular Dystrophy Association

Jul 29, 2020, 10:07 ET

NEW YORK, July 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As the COVID-19 pandemic affects communities across the United States, it has also impacted in-person fundraising for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). For 66 years, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has collected critical funds in the community – one dollar at a time – as part of the Fill the Boot program. This summer, the program will launch virtually to address social distancing guidelines for the firefighters, and the vulnerable community MDA serves.

International Association of Fire Fighters launch virtual Fill the Boot fundraiser for Muscular Dystrophy Association during the pandemic, to continue to fund research and care for cures.

(PRNewsfoto/Muscular Dystrophy Association)

This summer, Fill the Boot will be conducted virtually at mda.org/ftb. Donations help meet the urgent need for MDA's Frontline COVID-19 Emergency Fund to continue services for more than 250,000 people living with neuromuscular diseases across the country.

"For six decades, IAFF members have been at intersections across America with their fire boots to collect donations for MDA," says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. "But the COVID pandemic and social distancing make that an impossibility. Virtual Fill the Boot will let our members continue to collect to help MDA meet their vital mission of finding treatment and cures for muscular dystrophy, ALS and other neuromuscular diseases."

"IAFF members display an unwavering support for MDA year after year, raising critical funds and awareness to help our families get the care they need," says MDA CEO and President Lynn O'Connor Vos. "We are so thankful to the IAFF for continuing its commitment to cure neuromuscular disease and for the flexibility to go virtual through this pandemic to protect everyone on the frontlines in our communities."

Donate at mda.org/ftb.

Follow @MDAorg on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Follow the IAFF at Facebook.com/iaffonline, twitter.com/@IAFFNewsDesk, Instagram.com/iaff1918

SOURCE Muscular Dystrophy Association