Members of the Rhinelander Fire Department are hosting their annual Fill the Boot event July 7th through Saturday at the intersection of Stevens and Dwight Street. Firefighters are asking drivers to stop and fill the boot for the Muscular Dystrophy Association to help kids and adults with muscle diseases. Rhinelander firefighter Ryan Berghammer says the MDA makes an effort to help local families with the funds from the Fill the Boot event.
“The Muscular Dystrophy Association is a nationwide organization, but they take care of local regions and in our area there are approximately between 70 and 80 families that actually get directly benefitted from the money that we raise, they try to keep as much as they can in the local area to help these families.”
Berghammer says the MDA has made great strides and as medications improve, doctors are getting closer to stabilizing the diseases in some children.
He says the fire department raised 4,600 dollars their first day and are hoping to reach 15,000 dollars by the end of the fundraiser on Saturday. The fire department has been filling the boot for more than 60 years with the International Association of Firefighters.
For more information go to mda.org
