DALLAS FIREFIGHTERS KICK OFF THE  2010 FILL-THE-BOOT CAMPAIGN FOR MDA

When: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 @ 3:30 p.m.

Where: Dallas Fire Station 15 (111 E. 8^th Street in Oak Cliff)

Join Dallas Fire Fighters, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, Dallas City Council Members, MDA Officials and special guests as the Dallas Fire Department kicks off its 2010 Fill-the-Boot Campaign.

The event will be held at Dallas Fire Station 15, located at the corner of East 8^th Street and North Beckley in Oak Cliff on Tuesday, April 13 at 3:30 pm. Station 15 was the top collecting station for the Dallas Fire Department’s 2009 Fill-the-Boot Campaign.

Firefighters across the country are the top contributors to MDA and “Jerry’s Kids”, raising millions of dollars each year. In 2009, Firefighters in Texas led the country as the top collecting state through their Fill-the-Boot efforts. Dallas Firefighters were 2^nd in the State of Texas behind Houston with their Fill-the-Boot totals of over $215,000.00.

So much of the monies raised by Dallas Firefighters and other departments in the Metroplex stay right here in the North Texas Area benefiting local families. MDA is able to use more than 77 cents of every dollar raised to provide services to families in need.

Some of the area benefits of MDA include more than $15.3 million in research funding in Texas over the last 5 years. During the same time period, MDA has provided more than $11.5 million in services to individuals living in Texas. Some 300 youngsters attend MDA summer camps in Bruceville, Burton, Happy and Meridian each year.

Services provided to Texans include 23 MDA clinic locations throughout the state, including Specially for Children in Austin, the MDA/ALS University of Texas in Dallas, Valley Baptist Medical Center at Harlingen and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. There are currently 30 MDA-facilitated support groups in Texas, including nine general, four ALS, three parent, three ALS caregiver and two adult/caregiver support groups.

Special guest Kelly Crush, a 49-year old Wichita Falls Firefighter recently diagnosed with ALS, will be joined by other MDA families to share their message of how beneficial the Fill-the-Boot program is.

Dallas Firefighters will be on the streets of Dallas, Filling the Boot for MDA, for three days, April 14^th, 15^th and 16^th. (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) All fire companies will be in service and available for calls as necessary. Please join us in promoting this over 30-year tradition of Filling-the-Boot for MDA.

For more information contact Dallas Fire Fighters Association President, DD Pierce, at 214.941.1354.