WEST SPRINGFIELD — A decades-long charity event is sustaining its mission with a new look.
The Agawam and West Springfield fire departments will face off in a charity kickball event to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy Association research. The game will be played at the Mittineague Park baseball field on Aug. 17 at 4 p.m., according to the flyer.
Lt. Chris Monasterski said the event is a continuation of the Fill the Boot program, a 70-year partnership between the International Association of Fire Fighters and MDA. The collaboration aims to raise money across the country for MDA’s efforts in helping those with neuromuscular diseases.
Monasterski, who is spearheading West Springfield’s Fill the Boot for the second year, said the town typically runs its Fill the Boot drive on Riverdale Street. He said in an interview that this year felt like a good time to team up with Agawam for a new angle on the fundraiser.
“It’s just another tool in the toolbox to raise money for a good cause,” Monasterski said. “Agawam and West Side fire have a very close relationship anyway; we do a lot of mutual aid and help each other out … so I think this is a great way for us to combine our powers.”
According to its website, the IAFF and MDA have partnered on Fill the Boot since 1954. Since that time, MDA has used the funds to conduct research on different neuromuscular diseases and develop therapies to help people who live with these ailments.
Their efforts and grant funding have led to the discovery of the gene that causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the first organization to focus on finding a treatment for ALS, and the first to raise more than $2 billion for neuromuscular disease.
Monasterski said the Fill the Boot fundraiser is mainly a mechanism to help children with these diseases, but there is also personal motivation, too. He shared that MDA’s work is also crucial for firefighters themselves, because those who work in the profession are at higher risk for these diseases, due to the toxins they encounter on a daily basis.
“There’s an all-encompassing good to this,” Monasterski said. “You’re helping kids who were dealt a really tough hand, but we’re also helping ourselves too [as firefighters].”
The kickball game is free to the public, but donations are encouraged. Last year, the West Springfield Fire Department raised just over $6,000 for the 2024 Fill the Boot campaign, and Monasterski said he hopes the WSFD can eclipse $8,000 this year with help from the kickball game.
He said people are encouraged to scan the QR code on the event’s flyer to pick which fire department they would like to support. Additionally, boots will be available at the event for people to throw money into.
“What it comes down to for me is helping people any way we can, whether that’s kicking a ball, holding a boot on Riverdale Road or scanning a QR code,” Monasterski said. “It’s worth it.”
Readers can find more information on the event and charity by visiting the link to the flyer: tinyurl.com/2vnx2j7h.
