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closeEast Pierce raises funds for a cause
Roxanne Cooke
So far this year, East Pierce Professional Firefighters Local 3520 have raised a little less than $14,000 in a “Fill the Boot” campaign to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
The goal is $16,000, said firefighter paramedic Hunter Chumbley II. There are three more dates to collect the funds.
That money will go toward approximately 30 Sumner, Lake Tapps and Bonney Lake families that are affected by neuromuscular diseases. Last year, East Pierce Fire and Rescue raised $14,359, surpassing its goal of $10,000.
At each “Fill the Boot” shift, half a dozen firefighters stand on local street corners during rush hour times holding up large boots. Drivers can wave them over, put some cash or change in the boot and continue on their way.
Chumbley has met a few families affected by the diseases, he said. Some use wheelchairs, some use canes — it depends on the specific illness.
In addition to raising money for the MDA, East Pierce also sends five people affected by the disorders to complete a firefighter challenge. It’s a sort of relay race in which the firefighters help the participants.
Over the past two years, Chumbley has become more involved in the fundraising effort, he said. He also volunteers for the Burn Children Recovery Foundation.
“I have a huge passion for helping kids out,” he said. “I enjoy it.”
The MDA is a voluntary national health agency founded in 1950 that works toward defeating 43 neuromuscular diseases, including Lou Gehrig’s disease, which affects more than a million Americans, according to the MDA Web site. The term “muscular dystrophy” refers to a group of hereditary muscle-destroying disorders.
The association’s programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors. Money raised for the MDA will fund support group sessions, the cost of clinical diagnostic exams, send children to summer camp at YMCA Camp Seymour in Gig Harbor, fund research and help purchase and repair wheelchairs and other devices prescribed to MDA patients.
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FILL THE BOOT DATES
Dates and times for Fill the Boot:
> July 21: From noon to 5 p.m. at the corner of Old Buckley Highway and Locust
> Aug. 12: From noon to 6 p.m. at the corner of Valley and Main in Sumner
> Aug. 21: From 7-9 a.m. and 3:30 to 7 p.m. at the corner of Lake Tapps Parkway and 182nd Avenue