Host Jessica Koussevitzky was on hand with over 1500 people who came out to Huizenga Plaza early Saturday morning to participate and support the 5k run to benefit Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The purpose of the foundation is to raise money to build specially designed homes for injured Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, the nonprofit Tunnel To Towers Foundation sponsors the Fort Lauderdale run along with similar events in 12 other cities.
“Our dream is to get 343 cities to hold events like this,” said Siller, “to equal the number of firefighters lost.”
About
Mission
The sole purpose of our Foundation is to honor the legacy of love given to us by Stephen Siller, FDNY, who laid down his life on 9/11, by “doing good” in his name. The mission is to follow Stephen’s footsteps through support of children who have lost a parent, firefighters, and military who have been seriously injured and sacrifice their quality of life in the line of duty.
Vision
We believe that the Foundation is a real and concrete way to Follow the Footsteps of an American hero. The Foundation has established LET US DO GOOD PROGRAMS as our way to make a lasting and positive difference in the lives of others. These programs, In the Line of Duty and In the Name of Love, bring hope to grieving children, and healing to firefighters and families of our military, who sacrifice life and limb in the line of duty.
In the Line of Duty programs pay tribute to the 343 FDNY fallen brothers who sacrificed their lives on 9/11 through the memorial Tunnel To Towers Run, which supports the Weill-Cornell Burn Center and Burn Centers across America, and restores shattered lives by building homes for surviving quadriplegic servicemen returning from combat.
In the Name of Love programs bring love and hope to the most broken and vulnerable children. The Foundation does this through scholarship awards for local children who have lost a parent; through the establishment and continued support of Stephen’s House of the New York Foundling for orphaned, abused and neglected children; and for scholarships to children of the men and women who sacrificed their lives in the Afghan and Iraqi wars.
Core Values
The guiding principle that shapes our Foundation is that we can transcend the tragedy of 9/11 through the grace that comes from the power of caring. Love and faith are the cornerstone of our Foundation. The core belief of our Foundation is that every time we change a life for the better, we change the future. One mother, father, brother, sister, daughter and son at a time … we can make the world a better place … and transform and transcend 9/11.
