Annual ‘Fill the Boot’ campaign ends Friday

By Patrick Lynn

STEVENS POINT — The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and the Stevens Point Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 484 are ready for the annual Fill the Boot campaign.

This year’s campaign, which begins on August 29, marks the 70th anniversary of the partnership between MDA and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).

The kickoff event, beginning at 11 a.m., will feature speakers including Stevens Point Fire Chief J.B. Moody, Mayor Mike Wiza, MDA Director of Firefighter Partnerships Elizabeth Nelson, and Austin Lewandowski, the MDA representative for Local 484. Special guests include families affected by muscular dystrophy.

“Traditions are at the heart of the fire service, and the IAFF is proud that for 70 years, ‘Fill the Boot’ campaigns led by IAFF members throughout the United States and Canada, including Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 484, have made a difference for people living with neuromuscular diseases,” said IAFF General President Edward Kelly.

The Fill the Boot drive will officially begin on August 29 and 30 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the intersections of Division and Clark streets and Division and Main streets.

More than 30 firefighters from Local 484 will collect donations to support MDA’s efforts in research, care, and advocacy for families affected by muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related neuromuscular diseases.

Funds raised from the 2024 Stevens Point Fill the Boot campaign will support groundbreaking research, care from top medical teams, and programs like the MDA Summer Camp and the MDA Resource Center. The MDA-IAFF partnership, which began in 1954, has raised over $700 million to date, making IAFF MDA’s largest national fundraising partner.

For more information about the IAFF, visit IAFF.org. To learn more about MDA, visit mda.org.