Firefighters Take To The Streets For 'Fill The Boot' Campaign
DENVER (CBS4)- Watch for firefighters who will be patrolling the streets this Labor Day holiday weekend for the annual Fill the Boot fundraising campaign.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock teamed up with the Colorado Professional Fire Fighters and the Muscular Dystrophy Association to kick off the annual fundraising campaign that helps children and adults with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related muscle-debilitating diseases live longer and grow stronger.
They gathered on the West Steps of the state Capitol on Wednesday. Firefighters will stand in intersections and outside shopping centers with a boot, asking for donations.
Firefighters have been raising money for MDA for more than 60 years. Money raised through the Fill the Boot campaign help fund groundbreaking research that has resulted in four drug therapies for people living with three of MDA's most common diseases.
Those include Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This is the first time in more than 20 years that a treatment for ALS has hit the market.
The money also helps support groups, care centers and summer camps.
Firefighters pledge $1.2 million to MDA during this year's Fill the Boot campaign.