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Weather puts damper on fill-the-boot campaign
Stephanie Flemmons, Staff Writer
The amount of rain sweeping through the county during the months of April and May are good for some things, but not when it comes to outdoor fundraising events.
The Allen Fire Department was forced to stop short during its annual Muscular Dystrophy Association Fill-the-Boot campaign due to heavy rains.
Jacquelin Way, MDA district director, said weather affected many agencies and she hopes to reschedule some cities to participate another time this year.
“The rain definitely put a damper on it this year,” Way said. “Hopefully we can talk some departments into going out again.”
Voyce said because of the extent of organizing the campaign and purchasing cones and equipment to keep the firefighters safe, he does not believe they will be able to reschedule another day to make-up for the rainout.
“Next year I’d like to have more people involved and more intersections being attended,” Voyce said. “We only worked one intersection this year. I’m hoping next year we can work two.”
A crew of firefighters lined up at the intersection of Bethany and Greenville the first day of the campaign, which began May 7. Voyce said the participation was not as high as expected, so the firefighters focused on the one lane of rush hour traffic. He said in the one hour and 15 minute timeframe they had, they collected $1,800.
“You can collect money relatively quickly,” Voyce said. “Next year we need enough people to work both lanes of traffic.”
According to Way, Texas firefighters lead the nation in donations, raising $3.1 million of the almost $27 million raised by fire departments last year. The funds raised enable the MDA to provide the very best in patient care and services, including clinic visits, orthopedic equipment, support groups, and a worldwide research effort seeking treatments and cures for the 43 neuromuscular diseases.
The Fill-the-Boot campaign began more than 50 years ago when a Boston firefighter went door-to-door on a canister drive to help a friend whose children had muscular dystrophy. A life-long commitment began that day. The next year the International Association of Firefighters named the MDA their charity of choice and committed to support the association each year.
The Fill-the-Boot campaign, takes place each spring in hundreds of cities in Texas and thousands of cities across the country.
Contact Stephanie Flemmons at sflemmons@acnpapers.com
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