Marin Professional Firefighters to Raise Funds For Muscular Dystrophy Association

Firefighters from the Marin Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 1775 will be generously volunteering their time for the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association Fill The Boot event at four intersections in Marin County from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, April 22, and at one intersection in Tiburon from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 29.

The intersections include East Blithedale Avenue & Camino Alto in Mill Valley; Red Hill Avenue & Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in San Anselmo; 3^rdAvenue & Grand Avenue in San Rafael; and Rowland Boulevard & Vintage Way in Novato.

On Sunday, April 29, firefighters will be at the intersection of Main Street & Highway 131 in Tiburon.They will be asking motorists and pedestrians alike to drop some money in their boots to support MDA’s Bay Area children and families.

Committed to ending neuromuscular disease, The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has been one of MDA’s longest running partners in the fight against muscle disease.

Fill the Boot drives are the primary means by which the IAFF has raised almost $300 million for MDA since 1954. The Marin Professional Firefighters take part in a county-wide effort to raise thousands of dollars this year for the vital health care services MDA provides to Bay Area families affected by muscle disease. Local #1775 raised $31,725 for MDA in 2011.

The Muscular Dystrophy Association helps children and adults who are affected by over 43 different types of neuromuscular diseases.

Fill the Boot funds support MDA’s services locally and nationally, including over 200 hospital-affiliated medical clinics staffed with specialists in neuromuscular disease and special summer camps for kids.

Local clinics and camps benefiting from Fill the Boot funds include clinics at UCSF, California Pacific Medical Center, and Stanford. A week long summer camp for children with muscle disease is held each summer in the Sonoma Coastal Redwoods at Camp Westminster Woods.

MDA also funds innovative worldwide research and assists clients with the purchase durable equipment such as wheelchairs, leg braces, and other medical equipment. For more about MDA, visit www.mda.org.

For more information, contact Mill Valley firefighter Manny Medeiros at 415/389-4155 or mmedeiros@cityofmillvalley.org; or Ashley Merolla - San Francisco Fundraising Coordinator at 415-673-7500 or by email: amerolla@mdausa.org.