Getting the boots filled

By Brandon Santiago Hanford Sentinel | Posted: Saturday, April 28, 2012 7:45 am |

HANFORD Local firefighters took to the streets Friday evening to battle not a fire, but a disease that affects millions every day muscular dystrophy as part of the annual Fill The Boot fundraiser.

They were out walking the sidewalks and the medians asking pedestrians and drivers to donate. They carried signs and chanted Help out the MDA. Drivers honked their horns of support and rolled their windows down to give their spare change, or sometimes a 10- or 20-dollar bill.

For the past eight years, the Hanford Fire Department has partnered with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) to help raise money for research and treatment of the disease. The concept of the fundraiser is very simple: Any one can give, whatever amount they want to the firefighters walking the streets holding out their boots.

For the first time ever, Hanford Fire will be out collecting for two days. The campaign began Friday with department members on the corner of 12th Avenue and Mall Drive and fire academy students at the intersection of 11th Avenue and Lacey Boulevard.

Today, the collection continues with firefighters only at the Mall Drive corner from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

We are in a friendly competition with the Tulare Fire Department, said Derek Weisser, event coordinator. Tulare said their goal is to raise $10,000. So, we are going to raise $10,001.

Carrie Danny, executive director for the MDA Central Valley chapter, said that fire departments in general, and not just in Hanford, are crucial to helping the organization.

We are so grateful for everything that these firefighters here and all across the Valley do for us, Danny said. These guys raise millions for us every year. They come out rain or shine for this fundraiser. I mean it just proves that these guys are heroes in every sense of the word. Not only do they save lives from fires and car wrecks and other things, but they are also out here working and giving their time for a good cause.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2427 bsantiago@HanfordSentinel.com.

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Getting the boots filled