SAFD to Fill the Boot Once Again in San Angelo

San Angelo firefighters will hit the streets for three days during their annual Fill the Boot fundraising campaign for the Muscular Dystrophy Association on April 26-28.

According to a City of San Angelo press release, the San Angelo Fire Department and the San Angelo Fire Firefighters Association, since 1999, have engaged in the fundraising effort where motorists at four intersections drop dollar bills and loose change into the firefighters’ rubber boots. The intersections will be the same as in years past:

• 29th Street and North Bryant Boulevard
• Abe and Harris streets
• Johnson Street and Knickerbocker Road
• Sherwood Way and Avenue N

Firefighters will collect funds from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. each day.

Local firefighters raise approximately $50,000 for the MDA during the annual effort, and they have raised more than a half-million dollars for local families suffering from neuromuscular diseases over the past 18 years, noted the release.

“We look forward to the Fill the Boot campaign each year,” firefighter Mason Matthews said. “It’s a great opportunity for the SAFD to interact with the public we serve while supporting a great cause. The nature of our jobs is that we come in contact with citizens mostly in crisis situations. This is all about having fun while helping neighbors in need.”

City officials want to remind motorists to help protect the firefighters by slowing down when approaching the intersections, watching for the first-responders in the streets, and being aware of cars braking in front of them.