Maple Valley firefighters raised $8,000 as part of their annual Fill the Boot fundraiser campaign Aug. 17 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

The fundraiser, which brought in $2,000 more than last year’s campaign, had firefighters walking up and down Kent Kangley Road and state Route 169 at Four Corners, asking drivers for spare change in-between lights.

Jason Fox, a Maple Valley firefighter and coordinator with Local 3062, said he hoped to raise roughly $10,000. Still, compared to last year’s amount, he said he was pleased.

“That’s kind of always our goal to get $10,000,” he said. “I had a little more help this year than I did last year. Other than that, nothing has changed (in terms of how we run it). In that intersection we can make a lot of money if we have the help…It depends on who how many people we have out helping.”

Fox stated that not only did they have a few individuals donate hundred dollar bills a girl carrying a sign for Great Clips donated her entire day’s pay.

The Maple Valley firefighter’s Fill the Boot fundraiser first started in 2004, when Fox held it in the Safeway parking lot. Initially, it raised $2,000. The next year, they decided to bring the fundraiser out onto the street, which brought in $5,000.

Walking the street, Fox said, gives them better access to potential donors.

“You catch people going to work,” he said. “It just seems like a good time to have the collections. You just make so much more in the street. It’s spontaneous and easy which is really exciting.”

Fox added that the “fill the boot” fundraiser concept originated in South Boston in 1952, when firefighters helped raised money for a high school friend whose son dealt with a muscular disorder and couldn’t afford medical treatment. Also present at Four Corners during the fundraiser were local beneficiaries who suffer from muscular dystrophy.

Sarah Kleiver, a regional coordinator for MDA said the funds helped pay for summer camps, patient services, equipment repairs and research. MDA offers treatment for those suffering from 43 different types of muscular disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Last year, the International Association of Fire Fighters raised a national total of more than $28 million for MDA.

“The firefighters have been one of our biggest sponsors,” Kleiver said. “I feel like it’s been a little harder (to raise money) with the economy.”