During the 2019 MDA Fill the Boot campaign, the dedicated members of the Dunkirk Professional Firefighters Association IAFF Local 616 took to the streets and continued a 65-year tradition of giving strength to the MDA community. In that time they raised $4,500.

“The fire fighters of Dunkirk IAFF Local 616 have once again gone above and beyond for MDA’s families during this year’s Fill the Boot campaign,” said Development Specialist Heather Powers. “We are so grateful for their dedication and for the generosity of those in the Dunkirk community who have helped to raise critical funds to help transform the lives of kids and adults with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related muscle-debilitating diseases.”

Funds raised through Dunkirk Firefighters Fill the Boot events help MDA save lives and lift those up in need, by providing the MDA with vital resources to advance their mission of driving innovations in science and care for the neuromuscular community. Contributions have helped fund groundbreaking research and life-enhancing programs such as state-of-the-art support groups and Care Centers, including the MDA Care Center at University of Rochester Medical Center and Dent Neurologic Institute in Buffalo. They also help send more than 70 local kids to “the best week of the year” at MDA summer camp at Rotary Sunshine Campus in Rush, New York – all at no cost to their families. Today the IAFF/MDA partnership is finding new ways to save lives by working to expand newborn screenings in the U.S. with Pompe disease or Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), so that they can be immediately eligible for lifesaving and life changing therapies.