- Corpus Christi Fire Department (CCFD) participates in annual Fill the Boot campaign
- Firefighters fill their boots with donations at major intersections all across the city
- All proceeds go to Muscular Dystrophy Association
- This year's goal is $100,000, CCFD ranked #4 nationally for Fill the Boot
On Friday March 22, CCFD completed the annual Fill the Boot campaign that benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
For three Fridays in a row, Corpus Christi firefighters were stationed at major intersections all across the city, collecting donations from drivers. In 2023, CCFD raised $102,632 for the annual campaign.
CCFD hopes to raise over $100,000 for this year’s campaign. The first two Fridays of the 2024 campaign raised about $70,000 in donations.
Corpus Christi Fire Station 15 on Padre Island has been participating in Fill the Boot since 1986. It is a cause that these firefighters hold close to their hearts.
“That’s what brings us together is the common cause of doing something that helps everybody. Most of us know people, know someone with muscular dystrophy, especially through the EMS program that we have here in the city. We run into many people that are in need of these programs that fill the boot provide," Corpus Christi Fire Station 15 Fire Chief Timothy Netek said.
Each year, CCFD gets the chance to work with local families from the Coastal Bend who are affected by muscular dystrophy.
"There’s over 40 neuromuscular diseases that MDA has been involved with over the last 70 years. So, it gives a chance to give that personal touch from the firefighters that are out there filling the boot to the families that they’re actually helping out," Carlos Torres, Co-Coordinator of Muscular Dystrophy Association said.
One Fire Station 15 firefighter, David Amaro, has been participating in Fill the Boot on Padre Island for 23 years.
“It helps these kids attend the camps that they have every year," Amaro said. "These kids have disabilities, there’s a lot that they can’t do, things that we take for granted. So this money allows for the funding for them to go to the summer camps so they can participate in games and get some of that experience that normal kids get to get."
Corpus Christi is a national donation leader for Fill the Boot. CCFD raised the most money for Fill the Boot in their International Association of Firefighters 11th district in 2022 and 2023.
“Any opportunity I have to help out the community, that’s what firemen do. We’re firefighters, we’re paramedics. We come out, we’re always wanting to help," Chief Netek said.
CCFD Fire Station 15 on the island is excited to continue the Fill the Boot tradition for years to come. The exact amount raised for the 2024 campaign will be tallied up in the coming days.
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