Due to COVID-19, CSFD struggles to raise money for Fill the Boot campaign

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- For 66 years, the International Association of Fire Fighters has collected critical funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association with its Fill the Boot program, but this year brought changes to the community fundraisers.

Over a billion dollars has been raised for the MDA since its start, and it has had a tangible impact.

Sabrina Allen, Regional Manager Fire Fighter Partnerships with the Rocky Mountain Region, said, “A lot of the research that we have supported is directly linked to life-changing therapies across several of the diseases that we cover. We cover 43 different types of muscle diseases.”

But due to social distancing, physically filling a firefighter's boot with cash is simply not possible. So IAFF had to go back to the drawing board to figure out how they could still raise money despite COVID. Their solution is to make it all online

Allen said, “It’s incredibly vital and we hope that the citizens of Southern Colorado are going to come along on this journey with us and flex how they donate, and instead of dropping that dollar in the boot they can just do a few clicks and do it virtually this year.”

With a virtual way to fill the boot, this will allow members to continue and collect and help MDA meet their vital mission of finding treatment and cures for muscular dystrophy, ALS, and other neuromuscular diseases.

However, CSFD says because it’s fully online this year they are not seeing the normal return they usually get from donations.

Ryan Morris with the Colorado Springs Fire Department said, “We tried to keep it around 60-70 thousand [dollars] and we usually should have no problem getting that. So we, are only at a few hundred this year, which is a bummer.”

And Morris with CSFD says even though they can’t greet people this year they hope to return to the streets with their boots in 2021.

“We are definitely looking to get our firefighters out on street corners and store fronts to interact with the community and raise money. I know that’s really where we shine.”

If you would like to donate you can do so online by clicking here, or the donations can be made by texting ‘boot’ to 243-725.