EASTHAMPTON — Once a year, firefighters gather at the intersection of Main and Union streets, each asking drivers and passers-by to donate money in the boot, raising funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The “fill the boot” effort raises about $10,000 annually.
But this year, the Easthampton Firefighters Association decided to twist things up.
On Thursday, the association held a beer-tasting event at the Keystone Mill with local breweries such as Fort Hill Brewery, Abandoned Building Brewery and Hitchcock Brewing Company. Riff’s Joint supplied small plates. For the raffle, local business and organizations donated prizes from gift cards to game tickets.
For the night, the fundraiser raised $5,657. Firefighters still plan on doing the boot drive Aug. 31 through Sept. 2.
This year the funds are going specifically toward research in myotonic dystrophy, a mild form of muscular dystrophy.
Michelle Murphy, fundraising coordinator for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, is diagnosed with myotonic dystrophy. Thursday’s event means a lot to Murphy.
When gripping something tightly, like trying to unscrew a jar, Murphy said her hand will freeze up. Her condition could either stay the same or grow progressively worse in the future, she said.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future,” Murphy said, who is an avid runner. “I could be in a wheelchair by the time I’m 40.”
Firefighters across the United States have been “filling the boot” for the muscular dystrophy charity for more than 60 years, according to the association. Altogether, the drive raised more than $24 million in 2016.
Mike Greany, secretary and treasurer of the Easthampton Firefighters Association, said the efforts are important because money raised can support families with high medical costs and send children to summer camps.
Every $100 is one minute of research, according to Murphy. She said there have been major breakthroughs in muscular dystrophy in the last year.
“It’s making cures happen,” she said, referring to the money raised.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.