Near the start of the third day of the IAFF 52nd Convention, the IAFF paid tribute to its 60-year partnership with MDA, filling the boot and raising awareness about muscular dystrophy and related neuromuscular diseases.
Near the start of the third day of the IAFF 52nd Convention, the IAFF paid tribute to its 60-year partnership with MDA, filling the boot and raising awareness about muscular dystrophy and related neuromuscular diseases.
Dallas TX Local 58 member and 25-year veteran fire fighter Tracy Beard addressed the membership, saying that he was a strong supporter of MDA well before his own diagnosis with ALS in January 2014. Since then, he has seen first-hand all of the good work that MDA does for neuromuscular disease patients and their families. View his entire address here.
The inspiration for the IAFF’s partnership with MDA occurred when Boston Local 718 member George’s Graney wanted to help a friend with two sons affected by muscular dystrophy. Graney organized a door-to-door canister drive, raising an impressive $5,000. The success of that initial effort and subsequent drives prompted MDA officials to attend the IAFF’s Convention in 1954 when a resolution passed to make MDA the IAFF’s “charity of choice.”
A video commemorating the ongoing partnership can be seen here.
