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From 6:30-9 a.m. Thursday, Buffalo firefighters will hold their annual "Fill the Boot" program, with this year's proceeds going to the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Research Team (SMART). Current and former Sabres players, as well as Sabretooth, will join the firefighters at 7:30 a.m. on five of the six corners throughout the City of Buffalo, collecting funds.
The BFD will be collecting on the following corner sites:
Spinal muscular atrophy is a motor neuron disease. The motor neurons affect the voluntary muscles that are used for activities such as crawling, walking, head and neck control, and swallowing. SMA is the No. 1 genetic cause of death amongst children less than 2 years old, affecting nearly one in 6,000 new births. Approximately one in 35 people carry a copy of the gene that causes SMA.
SMART is a grass-roots organization working to raise awareness and financial support for targeted research aimed at finding treatments and ultimately cures for SMA and related neuromuscular diseases. Currently, SMART is funding the laboratory of a world-renowned physician-scientist at Johns-Hopkins Medical Center, who is working on novel research avenues that may lead to life-altering therapies for SMA.
SMART will hold its seventh annual SMART Celebration at First Niagara Center from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1. For more information, visit www.smarthope.com.