Merced firefighters raise $10K for muscular dystrophy support

Merced firefighters collected more than $10,000 Wednesday during the annual Fill the Boot fundraiser that benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Association, surpassing their goal of $8,000.

Twenty off-duty firefighters volunteered their time to collect donations from motorists along Olive and G Streets in Merced from 7 a.m. to about 1 p.m.

The money will help provide local support groups, medical equipment and the annual youth summer camp in Groveland for children with muscular dystrophy across the Central Valley, according to the Central California chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Merced Fire Department engineer Jeff Trost said the fundraiser, now in its 12th year, has become a tradition for Merced City Firefighters Local 1479.

“We’re very grateful the community supports what we do out here every year” Trost said.

“It’s one of those things where we actually see where the money goes,” Trost added about the fundraiser helping local children.

One example is Walker Murphy, 13, son of Merced City Councilman Mike Murphy. Walker was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, one of the nine types of muscular dystrophy, at age 4. He has attended the association’s youth summer camp in the past, and was present during some of Wednesday’s fundraiser.

“I came to support the firefighters and to thank them,” Walker said. Because there are not a lot of children with muscular dystrophy in Merced, the camp, he said, allows him to build friendships with other children in the Valley with the same condition.

Muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases that cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms most commonly begin in childhood, though some do not surface until adulthood, according to the medical group’s website.

The Mayo Clinic website says some people with muscular dystrophy can eventually lose the ability to walk, and some may have a hard time breathing or swallowing. While there is no cure for muscular dystrophy, medications and therapy can help manage symptoms and slow the course of the disease.

Last year, the fundraiser raised $7,500, a significant drop from the $12,000 that was usually raised before the city of Merced passed an ordinance in 2013 that prohibits panhandling at some of its median islands.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Merced firefighters raise $10K for muscular dystrophy support."