The Tunnel to Towers Foundation said it will pay off 21 mortgages for families of fallen first responders and Gold Star families and will launch a national tour transporting a piece of World Trade Center steel ahead of the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11.
The foundation’s chairman and chief executive, Frank Siller, announced the mortgage program and the new "Steel Across America" initiative in an interview as the nation approaches the solemn anniversary. Six of the 21 mortgages are for families of first responders who died from illnesses linked to the Sept. 11 attacks, underscoring that the tragedy continues to claim lives years after the towers fell.
Siller said the foundation’s work is grounded in personal loss. His brother, FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel on Sept. 11, 2001, to reach the World Trade Center; his body was never recovered. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation was established to honor Stephen Siller’s sacrifice and the service of other first responders who lost their lives that day.
"If you're a first responder and you're protecting us, we're gonna take care of your families that are left behind," Siller said, reiterating the foundation’s pledge to provide financial relief and sustain the legacies of those who died in the line of duty.
The "Steel Across America" program will carry a piece of World Trade Center steel across the United States accompanied by a 93-foot mobile museum. The foundation said the tour is intended to allow communities nationwide to engage with the physical artifacts of Sept. 11 and to help ensure the events and sacrifices are not forgotten as the country moves toward the event’s 25th anniversary.
Siller urged public support for the foundation’s work and asked Americans to consider monthly contributions. He specifically requested donations of $11 a month through the foundation’s website, saying the funds will support the mortgage program and the national tour.
The announcement highlights two strands of commemoration: immediate financial assistance to families affected by the attacks and an effort to maintain public memory through a traveling exhibit. The mortgage payoffs aim to remove a long-term financial burden from families the foundation identifies as connected to fallen first responders and Gold Star households. The mobile museum, by displaying a tangible remnant of the World Trade Center, seeks to foster public understanding of the human cost of the attacks.
Tunnel to Towers was created in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks and has previously focused on providing financial and housing assistance to families of first responders, veterans, and others wounded in the line of duty. The foundation’s new announcements frame the coming anniversary as an occasion not only for remembrance but also for concrete support for families who continue to experience the aftermath of the attacks.
As communities nationwide prepare events and memorials for the 25th anniversary, the foundation’s initiatives aim to combine commemoration with direct aid, reinforcing a mission that its leaders say is rooted in honoring individual and collective sacrifice. Donations and further details about the mortgage program and the Steel Across America tour are available through the foundation’s website.