Contributed Photo
Bobby Visco stands with firefighters, from left, Branden Bone, Kevin Egan, Honorary Chief Mark Southworth and Cameron Bendal.

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It’s not unusual to see little Bobby Visco dressed as a firefighter or police officer on a regular basis. The first grader at Kersey Creek Elementary School has a passion for public service officers even at his young age and wants to emulate them when he leaves his family’s Hanover home.
This past Labor Day, Visco continued his three year tradition of helping raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association Fill the Boot campaign. The 6-year-old, going door to door filling his own firefighter boot, raised $365 in just two weeks.
The national campaign raises money to support the research of the MDA.
The Visco family, including mother Kathleen and father Bob, moved from California in the summer of 2005. That Labor Day, Bobby and his mother saw firefighters, from Chickahominy Volunteer Fire Station 10, collecting money at Sheetz for the MDA. At four years old, Bobby had his own firefighter uniform and knew he wanted to help raise money. He then started going around his neighborhood with his own boot.
“I like going door to door and meeting people,” Bobby said on raising money.
“We had visited the firefighters and the other stations when we moved and they were so welcoming,” Kathleen said. “And we got a great welcoming from our new neighbors.”
That first year, the youngster raised $170 that he donated to Station 10.
His goal for this summer was $300, raising $230 last year. “We said we were going to make a bigger goal this year and try harder,” said Kathleen. “The firefighters were amazed.”
“I raised more than my goal and I like raising money for others,” the 6-year-old said.
According to Kathleen, the Hanover firefighters initially were overwhelmed that Bobby wanted to raise money just because he likes firefighters. His passion for firefighters started at just two years old and has only grown stronger as he has gotten older.
“I want to be a firefighter, EMS, lifeguard and police officer,” Bobby said when he gets older. When asked how he was going to manage all those careers, he simply said, “I’ll do one thing one day and another thing the next.” 
Bobby handed over his boot, filled with money, on Labor Day and had the opportunity to stand among his heroes, Hanover County firefighters. Representatives from county stations gathered during the day at the Mechanicsville Wal-Mart to collect more money for kids suffering from muscular dystrophy. Little Bobby was even interview by local Richmond Channel 8 news for his efforts to raise money.
“We’re going to extend it every year we raise money so he [Bobby] can see the importance of it,” said Kathleen. “He really understands that he’s helping people.”
At the conclusion of the Fill the Boot campaign, Station 10 raised $11,000 adding to Hanover County’s total of $46,000.