National Security: Tunnels to Towers

I have long been a supporter of a New York charity named Tunnels to Towers (T2T). It was begun nearly twenty years ago by Frank Siller to honor his younger brother, Stephen, who was a fireman responding to the 9/11 disaster in 2001,when the towers collapsed, killing more than 300 firemen, EMS and police who were trying to save those trapped in the burning World Trade Center. More than 2,700 New Yorkers died that clear September morning, 24 years ago, in the worst single disaster in our nation’s history, rivaled only be the Pearl Harbor disaster in late 1941. Frank Siller began Tunnels to Towers to assist the families of first responders who have lost a loved one, very often the breadwinner, coping with the disaster after their sacrifice. He named this charity in remembrance of Stephen, who rushed through the Battery Tunnel from his fire station in Brooklyn, to fight the fire and save the lives of those trapped in the Twin Towers. Stephen gave his life that day ‘so that others might live.’ As the Gospel of John (15:13) records the words of Jesus Christ, “Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friend.” Stephen Siller left behind a wife and five young children … and a mortgage. His older brother, Frank, felt that he could best honor his brother’s sacrifice by paying off the mortgage to relieve the widow and grieving family the financial burden of their home. So often, a mortgage is the greatest financial debt in our monthly budget. Frank Siller’s efforts to fund raise to meet this financial burden gave rise to Tunnels to Towers. Other families of heroes like Stephen face a similar burden. T2T can assist them, too. Can you imagine being a young widow with children to raise by yourself, when you discover you no longer have the monthly income to service payment on your mortgage? Can you imagine the pain of telling your children, who have lost their father, that they must move to a strange home they can afford? It is traumatizing to think of such a scenario. Tunnels to Towers was formed to support these families and ease their financial burden. Now, twenty-some years later, T2T has expanded its mission. Today, they support not only the families of first-responders, but servicemen as well. Also, they support not only the families of the fallen, but also those who are catastrophically injured and now handicapped. The latest T2T initiative is to provide housing for homeless veterans. They do this by buying hotel buildings that have closed and restoring them to house vets who are living on the street. As I understand, this part of the charity happens primarily in our cities where affordability of housing is an issue and one of the factors that leads to homelessness. You might think of T2T as a charity that says ‘thank you’ to those who have made great sacrifice for the liberties we enjoy. How well does this charity perform? They advertise that 95.1 percent of all monies raised goes to the purpose of the charity I have outlined. That is remarkably high compared to others (the mark of a good charity used to be at least 75 percent of funds raised meet the purpose). I urge you to take a closer look at Tunnels to Towers. If it meets your expectations, then I would humbly ask for your support. You can find them at www.T2T.org.