Garland Fire Fighters and MDA Kick Off Annual Fill the Boot Campaign

WHAT: Members of the Garland Fire Department and Garland Fire Fighters Association, along with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), are hosting a special event to kick off the fire fighters’ annual Fill the Boot fundraising campaign to help kids and adults with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related muscle-debilitating diseases live longer and grow stronger.

Garland Fire Department will host the Kick Off for the 2016 Garland Fire Department Fill the Boot Campaign at the City Of Garland’s Central Fire Station.

WHO: Garland Mayor Douglas Athas, Garland Fire Chief Raymond Knight, Garland Fire Fighters Association President David Riggs, MDA coordinator Courtney Spuza, and others will speak at the Kick Off event.

WHERE: Garland Central Fire Station

1019 Austin St.

Garland, TX 75040

WHEN: April 20, 2016 1:30 -1:45pm

Media are invited to cover the event and get interviews afterward with speakers and MDA families. To confirm coverage, please contact Courtney Spuza at [email protected] or at 972-480-0011 no later than April 20, 2016 at 11am.

WHY: The Fill the Boot kickoff event on April 20, 2016 continues more than 60 years of Texas Firefighter tradition providing steadfast drive and uncommon caring to help free individuals from the harm of muscle diseases that take away everyday freedoms like walking, hugging, playing and even breathing.

This year’s Fill the Boot campaign officially begins on Friday April 22, 2016. More than 250 members of the Garland Fire Department will fan out across the city with boots in hand as they greet motorist on various streets in Garland, TX, asking them to make a donation in support of MDA’s mission to find treatments and cures for muscle-debilitating diseases.

Funds raised through 2016 Garland Fire Department Fill the Boot event help MDA’s efforts to fund groundbreaking research and life-enhancing programs, such as state-of-the-art support groups and Care Centers, including pediatric and adult MDA Care Centers at Children’s Medical Center, UT Southwestern and two ALS Care Centers at UT Southwestern and Texas Neurology. They also help send more than 15 local kids to “the best week of the year” at MDA summer camp at no cost to their families at Camp John Marc in Meridian, TX.