Firefighters' boot drive suffers
Firefighters say new panhandling law led to MDA benefit's drop-off
By HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News
They tried their hardest, but Dallas firefighters couldn't fill those big boots.
This year's Fill the Boot campaign for the Muscular Dystrophy Association came up short – way short – of Dallas Fire-Rescue's $350,000 goal, in large part because the city's new panhandling ordinance prohibits anyone from soliciting for money on or near public streets.
The new restrictions prompted the department to ask its 1,700 firefighters to volunteer to raise money at NorthPark Center over the last month instead of dispersing throughout Dallas.
"We were very appreciative that NorthPark allowed us to do what we needed to do," said Mike Buehler, president of the Dallas Firefighters Association.
But "the grand total was $60,000, about $300,000 less than what we had last year," he said. "In that sense, we were a little disappointed."
Firefighters pulled a three-alarm fund-raiser, increasing the drive from one weekend to four and asking the City Council to make an exemption to the panhandling ordinance that began shortly after last year's campaign.
Council members upheld the ordinance and declined to provide an exemption to avoid discriminating against anyone.
"What the city attorneys said, and what I agree with, is that you can't say it's a hazard for a church member to stand on a street corner and not a firefighter," Mayor Laura Miller said. "When you're crossing streets all the time, it's a hazard."
Cities such as Fort Worth and Tulsa, Okla., have made temporary exemptions to their ordinances to accommodate local Fill the Boot campaigns.
Capt. Greg Yates of the Fort Worth Fire Department said the exemptions have been vital to his department's campaign for the last two years.
"It shows that the City Council supports the Fire Department and the MDA," Capt. Yates said.
The Fort Worth Fire Department raised $70,500 this year, more than twice what it raised in 2002.
Ms. Miller said she wanted firefighters to succeed in their drive, but the panhandling ordinance must be strictly adhered to.
"I think you do it to everybody, or you don't do it," Ms. Miller said.
Before this year, the firefighters' campaign has consistently been the largest noncorporate fund-raiser for MDA Dallas, said Lauren Kennedy, regional public affairs coordinator for the group But, despite this year's gloomy outcome, MDA will not suffer any immediate losses, because this year's budget was set in November.
"The services that were promised to families will still be available to them," Ms. Kennedy said.
That could change if MDA doesn't make up for the Fill the Boot shortfall through other fund-raisers, such as the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon in September. If it doesn't raise more money, Ms. Kennedy said, all programs could take a hit over the next few years.
"For example, MDA camp is free to children ages 6 to 21, at a price of $600 per camper," she said. "However, in a couple of years if there is less money available MDA may have to restrict camp to children between the ages of 9 to 21."
The mayor and firefighters hope that won't happen.
"I told firefighters last week I will stick with this until we raise all the money," Ms. Miller said. "If people are generous enough to give $350,000 a year, they're still willing to do that. We just have to do it in other ways."
The mayor said she has contacted a "very high-profile organization" that has agreed to help host another fund-raising event, but she said the organization was not ready to publicize it yet.
About 3,000 families in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are affected by muscular dystrophy. Those families, Mr. Buehler said, are why firefighters are continuing their fight against MD.
"We're willing to do anything we can because we understand how much this means to those in Dallas who suffer from muscular dystrophy," he said.
Mr. Buehler said he and the MDA are working with retailers to set up more drives.
But, he said, he's still hoping the council will consider an exemption to the ordinance so firefighters can solicit on the streets next year.
"There's nothing we can possibly do to match what we've done before," Mr. Buehler said. "Traditionally, we haven't found anything else that comes close."
TO HELP:
- To contribute to the Muscular Dystrophy Association:
Go to http://www.mdausa.org and click on the "Donate Now" box.
Call the Dallas district office at 972-480-0011.
Participate in upcoming events such as Aisles of Smiles (at local retailers in August and September) or the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon on Sept. 5 and 6.