Tallahassee firefighters and the Muscular Dystrophy Association are holding the 51st "Fill the Boot Campaign" to raise money for individuals stricken with the disease.
Firefighters will be on street corners through Saturday collecting money. The "Fill the Boot" drive is one of the longest-running donation efforts to help support muscular dystrophy.
And citizens haven't disappointed firefighters with their donations.
"The generosity of the people here is wonderful," said Judi Davison, a driver-operator/EMT and 13-year fund-raising participant. "The people are being very generous and very receptive to us and they know that this is a very good cause."
Firefighters collected $13,400 last year. This year's goal is $17,000, Davison said. The fund-raiser coincides with similar efforts across the country such as the Jerry Lewis telethon.
The MDA raises an average of $850,000 each year in the Tallahassee district, which stretches from Albany, Ga., to Fort Walton Beach.
The money collected through fund-raising in the Tallahassee district provides money for the Tallahassee Neurologic Clinic, the sponsorship of summers camps at Cape San Blas and the payment of wheelchairs. A huge portion of the money helps to fund research for the crippling disease, said Lisa Heil, district director for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Tallahassee firefighters held their first MDA drive in 1954, Heil said.
"This is a great thing," firefighter Rusty Roberts said as he stood at Tennessee and North Monroe streets. "It makes a lot of difference to the kids and the adults that are affected with this disease. It improves their lives and it gives them a better quality of life for much, much longer."
Last year's drive was nearly derailed following concerns about safety issues involving solicitors working intersections. In September, city commissioners passed an ordinance that requires organizations to apply for a special permit and it requires them to have a $1-million liability insurance policy. Solicitors are not allowed to enter the road while traffic is moving.
The action pleases Heil and others.
"We're doing it safely and the way the city wants it to be done," she said.
You can mail checks or money orders to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, 1574-B Village Square Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32309
Tallahassee firefighters will be collecting money at these intersections between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. through Saturday:
Apalachee Parkway at Magnolia Drive
John Knox Road at Monroe Street
Appleyard Drive at Pensacola Street
Orange Avenue at South Monroe Street
Monroe Street at Tennessee Street
Hartsfield Road at Capital Circle
Killarney Way at Thomasville Road
Bannerman and Thomasville roads
Betton and Thomasville roads.
For more information on the campaign, call Lisa Heil at (850) 681-6763 during daytime business hours.
Distributed by the Associated Press
