Fill the Boot campaign raises cash for muscular dystrophy

The annual “Fill the Boot” campaign” kicked off Friday.

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers joined members of the city’s fire department as they prepare to hit the streets.

They’ll be collecting money for MDA, the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

It’s a tradition that dates back more than sixty years.

Proceeds help fund treatments and cures for debilitating muscle diseases.

The money also helps send more than 90 local kids to the MDA summer camp in Empire, Colorado.

“Camp lets me get away for a whole week,” says MD sufferer Kalvin Blauert, who attended Friday’s press conference. “It gives me a chance to have fun with other kids who have the same disabilities as I do”

The campaign is a nationwide effort. Firefighters in Pueblo will Fill the Boot starting next weekend.

To date, fire crews across the country have raised more than a half-billion dollars for the MDA.