Annandale Fill-the-Boot Raises $15,000 for Muscular Dystrophy

The generosity of Annandale residents and hundreds of others throughout the county helped the Fairfax County union of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) achieve top fundraising totals for the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon.

Across the country, members of the IAFF union take to the streets in their communities and collect donations to fight muscular dystrophy, a group of genetic diseases that progressively weaken the muscles in the body, and other related diseases. This year, the Fairfax County IAFF was the top-collecting organization in the entire country, with a contribution of $561,487. The next closest organization was the IAFF local for the city of Houston, Texas, which collected $489,081.

"This is a tremendous victory not only for Fairfax County in topping Houston, but more importantly for the children and adults who live with some of the more than 40 neuromuscular diseases that MDA serves," said Joel Kobersteen, Fairfax County fill-the-boot coordinator. "Our reward is in seeing the faces of the children at MDA camp and the grateful parents who hold out hope that their child's disease will one day be cured due to the research that we help fund."

Since Fairfax County has half the number of firefighters that Houston has, local firefighters are especially proud of the achievement. Firefighters at the Annandale Volunteer Department collected funds over five days from Sept. 2-6 by standing at heavily traveled intersection and letting motorists drop money into a boot.

The funds collected by Fairfax County firefighters go toward supporting the Muscular Dystrophy Association services and research programs in the Washington, D.C. area. These include MDA's outpatient clinics for neuromuscular diseases at Children's National Medical Center, Georgetown University Hospital and the annual MDA camp in Leonardtown, Md.

The IAFF is the leading contributor to the national Muscular Dystrophy Association, donating more than $425 million during its 56-year partnership.