As the COVID-19 pandemic affects communities across the United States, it has also wreaked havoc on fundraising for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters.
For 66 years, IAFF members have been standing on sidewalks asking passers-by to fill a firefighter’s boot with dimes, quarters, dollar bills, and more. This year, due to social distancing, that’s not possible. This summer, Fill the Boot will be conducted virtually. Donations help meet the 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."