Reno firefighters raised $5,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association during their annual “Fill The Boot” campaign over the Labor Day Weekend, according to project chair Sarah Turner.

The fundraiser marked the 55th year that firefighters have supported MDA through the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). The annual MDA fundraising event was named the “Boot Drive” because firefighters began using the safety boots worn during structure fires to collect the donations. IAFF has emerged nationally as the single largest sponsor of MDA, contributing more than $200 million since 1954, and raising a record $18.3 million in 2003 alone.

Reno firefighters representing IAFF Local 731 asked shoppers at the Sierra Summit Shopping Center on South Virginia Street to fill the boot with donations for MDA. The boot drive at Summit Sierra was a departure from the old fundraising effort that had firefighters with boots seeking donations from drivers at stop lights at major intersections over the Labor Day weekend. The intersection boot drive was changed in 2006 as the result of a Las Vegas firefighter being nearly killed by a drunk driver while participating in the 2005 fundraising activity there.

All funds raised through the firefighters boot drive are used locally to support MDA research and treatments to prolong children’s lives. The funds raised through the annual boot drive are also used to provide braces, wheelchairs and voice control communication devices for children and adults in the local region affected by muscular dystrophy, as well as for area community health centers and support groups. The money also goes to local children for a week-long summer camp at Lake Tahoe, which costs about $650 per child.

The annual Boot Drive is just part of active MDA fundraising efforts by Reno firefighters who also participate in and support various MDA activities throughout the year, such as helping with the annual local MDA summer camp program.