From 7-9 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). The firefighters will once again be joined by Sabres representatives, who will be collecting funds at 7:30 a.m. at select "Fill the Boot" corners throughout the City of Buffalo.
The Buffalo Fire Department will collect on the following corner sites:
- Oak and Genesee
- Elm and Swan
- Niagara Street, 190 Exit - Sabretooth
- Delaware and Hertel
- Skyway and Church - Pat Kaleta
- Seneca and Bailey
- Abbott and Red Jacket Way - Andrew Peters
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) 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 1 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 10th annual SMART Celebration at KeyBank Center from 1-6 p.m. Saturday. For more information, visit
www.smarthope.com.
