pnbsppdivMembers of the DeWitt Fire family are hitting the street all day for their annual boot drive to help Local 2733 raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.nbspThe intersection of Erie Boulevard and East Genesee Street will be manned all day on Friday September 26. nbspDeWitt Firefighters began conducting their boot drive in 2005 and collected over 15000 that year thanks to the generosity of contributors. nbspdivdiv stylemargin 0in 0in 0ptThis year marks 54 years of partnership between the International Association of Fire Fighters and the Muscular Dystrophy Association in the fight against more than a hrefhttpwww.mda.orgdiseasespan stylecolor windowtext40 neuromuscular diseasesspana. nbspThe IAFF is by far MDArsquos largest sponsor and the untiring efforts of fire fighters and paramedics have powered the MDA and research programs for decades. nbspThe IAFF began its partnership with MDA at the unions 1954 convention in Miami where the membership proclaimed it would support the voluntary health agencyrsquos efforts ldquountil a cure is found.rdquo Since 1954 the IAFF has raised nearly 200 million for MDA.divdiv stylemargin 0in 0in 0ptnbspdivdiv stylemargin 0in 0in 0ptIn 2008 the IAFF has raised 27.5 million for MDA helping to fund a worldwide research program a network of some 230 clinics and 30 ALS Lou Gehrigrsquos disease centers assistance in obtaining wheelchairs and other durable equipment public health education and summer camps for more than 4000 youngsters with muscular dystrophy and related diseases. nbspThe IAFF is the largest national sponsor of the Muscular Dystrophy Association MDA and this year raised a record-shattering 27530000 for the MDA 43rd annual Labor Day Telethon. ldquoJerryrsquos Kids are extremely important to the fire fightersrdquo says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. ldquoWe dedicate ourselves every year to standing on street corners and in intersections filling the boot so that children affected with muscular dystrophy and related disorders can receive crucial medical treatment and so that the search for a cure can continue.rdquodiv
