Manhattan-based nonprofit Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation announced on April 7 the launch of a fundraiser to help the widow of Inwood firefighter Joseph Sanford Jr., Jacqueline Scott-Sanford, and her daughter, Janisha to help defray their mortgage and any future home renovation costs.
Sanford, 43, was fighting a fire at 787 Central Ave. in Woodmere early in the morning on Dec. 19, when he fell through the first floor to the basement and was trapped under debris. He died from his injuries four days later.
The foundation is setting a goal of raising $300,000; Bank of America is expected to contribute half and the remainder will be raised by selling 1,000 tickets in the same section for the Aug. 4 Yankees/Red Sox game. United Mavericks, a social group committed to charitable and philanthropic endeavors, led by Tony Lubrano, announced that they bought 300 tickets.
John Hodge, the vice president of operations for the foundation, said that he learned about Scott-Sanford through Peninsula Kiwanis Past-President Christopher McGrath, an Inwood native who now lives in Hewlett. “Our organization will match 50 percent of the fundraising efforts,” Hodge said.
Established in honor of fallen 9/11 firefighter Stephen Siller, the foundation works to support first responders. In addition to assisting Sanford, the organization helped to raise $1 million to pay off mortgages the family members of slain NYPD detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, earlier this year.