Annual Report 2018 Our Mission
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Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation ANNUAL REPORT 2018 OUR MISSION The mission of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation is to honor the sacrifice of firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2001. We honor our military, their families, and our firstresponders who continue to make the supreme sacrifice of life and limb for our country. 2 A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN Dear Friends, When my family started the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, we knew that we wanted to honor our brother’s heroic life and death, and all those who perished on September 11, 2001. Our ambitions were purely and simply to do good in their memory. Just as our little brother Stephen had his destiny on September 11, 2001, we too, began our journey. Incredibly, over the years we have raised and given nearly 125 million dollars to improve the lives of catastrophically injured veterans by building smart homes, and we have provided mortgage-free homes to many fallen first responder families with young children, and this past year we began a new endeavor of providing homes to Gold Star families with young children. This year we began a very ambitious $11/month giving campaign because we experienced how these homes changed the shattered lives of those who sacrificed so much. We felt compelled to find a way to help, and we are relying on the unparalleled goodness of everyday Americans. It was an honor to work with actor and activist Mark Wahlberg to launch our nationwide giving campaign, and we are unequivocally certain that fellow Americans will find it in their hearts to join us in our mission. Gold Star widow Nancy Gass expressed what receiving a home has meant to her, “I want to let all of you know what a difference you have made in my life and the lives of my children. It is so much more than a house. It is the most grand gesture of love I have ever witnessed. Thank you all for showing us that my husband’s service has not been forgotten.” To our remarkable volunteers, sponsors, and donors, you have made many grand gestures of love possible through your commitment, and we humbly thank you for all you do. Let us continue to do good, Frank Siller Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation Chairman and CEO 3 2018 HIGHLIGHTS % In 2018, 93% of every dollar went 93 directly to our programs % In 2018, we scored a perfect 100% in the Accountability 100 and Transparency category by Charity Navigator By the end of the 18th Annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk NYC, more than 500,000 participants had followed in >500,000 Stephen’s footsteps since the event’s inception Since 2013, the 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit has traveled to nearly all 50 states and Canada, and >350,000 has welcomed over 350,000 people 4 PROGRAMS GOLD STAR FAMILY HOME PROGRAM SMART HOME PROGRAM FALLEN FIRST RESPONDER HOME PROGRAM NATIONAL RUN, WALK, & CLIMB SERIES NEVER FORGET PROGRAMS 5 GOLD STAR FAMILY HOME PROGRAM This September Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller stood at the top of One World Trade Center surrounded by more than a dozen women. These women came to New York from all over the country, but they had a few things in common. They were all Gold Star widows, their husbands killed in the line of duty, and they were all getting new homes from the Tunnel to Towers Foundation as part of its brand-new Gold Star Family Home Program. The program provides mortgage-free homes to surviving spouses with young children. By the end of 2018 more than a dozen families had the security of a mortgage-free home. 6 GOLD STAR FAMILY COURTESY UTAH NATIONAL GUARD HOME PROGRAM JENNIE TAYLOR Army Major Brent Taylor was killed in action during his fourth deployment in an insider attack near Kabul, Afghanistan. Major Taylor left behind his wife Jennie and their seven children, Megan, Lincoln, Alex, Jacob, Ellie, Jonathan, and Caroline. Tunnel to Towers paid off the mortgage on the family’s home in Utah days before Christmas. “In the moment that the officers and I had to come see the children my biggest reaction was…I don’t have seven arms. I have seven children who just lost their father and I don’t have seven arms to wrap around them. – Jennie Taylor, Gold Star Family Home Recipient ” 7 SMART HOME PROGRAM The Tunnel to Towers Smart Home Program builds specially adapted homes for the nation’s most catastrophically injured service members. Each smart home is designed to enable our most catastrophically injured veterans to live more independent lives. 8 SMART HOME PROGRAM CHRISTOPHER LEVI On March 17, 2008, CPL Christopher Levi lost both of his legs in an IED blast that targeted his armored Humvee. On July 3, 2018, on the eve of Independence Day, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation handed over the keys to CPL Levi’s new smart home, a gift that would help him live a more independent life. Since his injury CPL Levi has passed the Series 7 General Securities Representative Exam and received his bachelor’s degree. He now works as an Investment Advisory Representative. By the end of 2018, the Foundation had delivered, started construction on, or was in the design stage of 75 smart homes. The Foundation is committed to building a minimum of 200 smart homes for America’s injured veterans. 9 SMART HOME PROGRAM CLARK CAVALIER “I don’t feel I deserve any of it, but I do hope to earn it. There are things that I couldn’t even think of and I’m the one with prosthetic legs. There are things to help me out that I wouldn’t have thought of, but they are nuisances in my daily life, and I would have never thought to fix them. Until someone came in and said we are going to make your life a little easier. When you are surrounded by people on a beautiful day in a house this gorgeous, I can’t express how happy I am. If I was actually able to conceive all of the awesomeness of today, I would just fall over.” –Clark Cavalier, Smart Home Recipient ” 10 FALLEN FIRST RESPONDER HOME PROGRAM The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is committed to honoring the sacrifices made every day by our brave women and men in uniform. The Fallen First Responder Home Program supports the families left behind when a firefighter, police officer, or emergency worker is killed under extraordinary circumstances in the line of duty. Since 2015, the Foundation has ensured that dozens of fallen first responder families with young children have the security and stability of knowing they own their home mortgage-free. 11 FALLEN FIRST RESPONDER HOME PROGRAM SGT. MICHAEL CHESNA Sergeant Michael Chesna was a beloved husband and father of two. He served his country in the United States Army and was awarded a Purple Heart. When he came home, he continued to serve, this time as a member of the Weymouth Police Department. In July 2018, Sergeant Chesna was shot and killed by a suspect after responding to reports of an erratic driver. Following his line of duty death, the FALLEN FIRST Tunnel to Towers Foundation began raising RESPONDER funds to pay off the mortgage on his home. HOME PROGRAM Donations came in from around the world, and support from the Massachusetts community helped the Foundation pay off the mortgage weeks after he was killed. “The generosity of people is overwhelming, and I can’t thank you enough…I just want to thank the community for everything they’ve done for my family, my kids. –Cindy Chesna, wife of Sgt. Michael Chesna ” 12 NATIONAL RUN, WALK, & CLIMB SERIES 13 NATIONAL RUN, WALK & CLIMB SERIES TUNNEL TO TOWERS 5K RUN & WALK NYC TUNNEL TO TOWERS 5K RUN & WALK NYC Our signature annual event, the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk NYC, was held September 30, 2018. Tens of thousands of runners, walkers, first responders, and members of the military retraced Stephen’s final footsteps from the foot of the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel to the Twin Towers site. The event honors the 343 FDNY members, 71 law enforcement officers and thousands of civilians who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. When you come out of the tunnel and It’s a very heartwarming day that so “ see where those towers were and just many people from all over the country, imagine what those guys went through, all over the world, come here for Tunnel it really gives you a lot of chills. It makes to Towers. It’s really a tribute to the you appreciate what they did. Siller family that turned a family – Michael Adam, Southampton Fire tragedy into this noble cause. Department, who ran with 19 other –Daniel Nigro, Fire Commissioner, ” members of his department City of New York 14 NATIONAL RUN, WALK, & CLIMB SERIES TUNNEL TO TOWERS TOWER CLIMB NYC TUNNEL TO TOWERS TOWER CLIMB NYC In June the 4th annual Tunnel to Towers Tower Climb NYC was held at One World Observatory. One climber left the event with more than a medal. 31-year-old Jim Busch proposed to his girlfriend, Lydia, after the two finished the more than 100-story trek to the top of One World Trade Center. She said “Yes.” In addition to the signature NYC events, runs and climbs were held in 45 cities in 2018. 15 NEVER FORGET PROGRAMS 16 NEVER FORGET PROGRAMS 9/11 NEVER FORGET MOBILE EXHIBIT FOOTSTEPS TO THE FUTURE ENDOWMENT The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation is committed The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation held its 2nd Annual to ensuring we never forget the heroism and sacrifices made on 9/11.