For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Photo: Gloucester Fire Department Donates Nearly $12,000 to Muscular Dystrophy Research

GLOUCESTER — Chief Eric Smith is pleased to announce that the Gloucester Fire Department collected $11,845 in donations for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) this summer.

The fundraiser is part of the Fill the Boot campaign, a national donation drive where firefighters across the country take to their local streets in an effort to “fill their boots” with donations for the MDA.

In Gloucester, firefighters staged themselves along Western Avenue to collect donations, handing out stickers and lollipops for children. The fundraising effort is done by off duty firefighters in conjunction with daily firefighter activities. Each shift collected funds twice during this effort.

“As Chief, I’m proud of the efforts the firefighters put into collecting money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association,” Chief Smith said. “Every year they raise the bar for themselves, setting a higher goal, and every year they surpass their funds raised from the year before.”

Gloucester firefighters have held a Fill the Boot campaign for decades.

About Fill the Boot Campaign:

MDA’s spirited Fill the Boot campaign is an honored tradition in which thousands of dedicated firefighters hit the streets or storefronts asking pedestrians, motorists, customers and other passersby to make a donation to MDA, using their collective strength to help kids and adults live longer and grow stronger.

Fill the Boot donations benefit MDA’s shared mission to find research breakthroughs across diseases, care for kids and adults from day one, and empower families with services and support in hometowns across America.

In 2015, more than 100,000 firefighters participated in Fill the Boot events across the country and raised $25.5 million.

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