Missouri Governor Mike Parson has officially proclaimed August as Fill the Boot Month to mark the 65th anniversary of firefighters’ extraordinary efforts on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
Nearly $600 million has been collected since the program began with one Boston firefighter 1954.
Houston firefighters will be participating in the 65th annual Fill the Boot benefitting the Greater Ozarks chapter of the MDA. Houston is one of 63 departments collecting in the Ozarks.
“Fill the Boot is off to great start,” said MDA Executive Director Jerry Bear. “Several departments don’t wait until Labor Day weekend to collect and the response so far has been encouraging.
Houston collected $3,100 in 2018 and more than $11,000 in the past three years.
“That is outstanding,” Bear said.
Firefighters are watching their extraordinary determination and hard work usher in a new era of progress in research and treatments. Seven new drugs have been approved since 2015. The treatment Spinraza has been used in Spinal Muscular Atrophy to allow a new born baby with a life expectancy of one year to “dance with the doctor” at age three and her parents saving for college. There are many other stories to be written about gene therapy in the future. MDA plans to release 45 more new drugs and treatments in the next three years.
Funds raised through the Fill the Boot will also support MDA Care Centers located at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. Kids between 6 and 17 years old with muscular dystrophy attend a weeklong, barrier-free MDA Summer Camp at Camp Wonderland. More than a million people in the U.S. are affected by the 43-neuromuscular disease covered by MDA. That includes ALS. MDA has invested $325 million in research and services since 1954.
Silver Dollar City will be honoring firefighters on Labor Day by hosting an ice cream social for all participating departments. Firefighters will gather at Echo Hollow to appear on KOLR 10-TV to announce their totals.
Houston firefighters will be collecting money Friday from noon to 6 p.m. on U.S. 63 at Holder Drive.