BY JUDY RATTNER
The event retraces Siller's final steps as the 34-year-old ran with over 70 pounds of gear strapped to his back through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the World Trade Center, in an effort help others on that fateful day.
The Foundation honors the legacy of courage and love that the one-time Rockville Centre resident has left behind. Today, almost six years later, that legacy is alive and well. His family, along with numerous volunteers, has raised over two and a half million dollars for charities close to Siller's heart. The Stephen Siller Children's Foundation helps children who have lost one or more parents, a cause very dear to Siller because he had lost both his parents by the time he was ten. Other causes supported by the foundation are Stephen's House of the New York Foundling that provides a broad range of services for orphaned, abused and neglected children; the NYC Firefighter Burn Center Foundation; Burn Centers across America; Freedom Alliance and Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund; Legacy & Wings of a Hero Awards and Children of Hurricane Katrina Awards.
This year, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will be on hand to speak and present awards to the top runners at the event. Also attending will be the now-retired singing New York City police officer, Daniel Rodriguez. And there will be two chances to catch the organization on television - on Sept. 10, the foundation will be featured on a segment of the "Oprah Winfrey Show" and for the second year, CBS will be broadcasting live from the run.
For more information or to register for the run, visit www.tunneltotowers.org or call (718) 987-1931.
Comments about this story? RVCeditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 208.
