When Santa comes down the chimney, all he has to do is fill stockings and leave presents. But if the families
Frank Siller
serves are to have a merry Christmas, he sometimes has to supply the chimney itself—and the home attached to it.
Mr. Siller, 69, is chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which he started a month after 9/11. Its mission is simple but daunting: to pay off mortgages for families of military members and first responders killed in the line of duty—or, for those seriously injured by their service, to build them custom homes that help them lead lives of dignity and independence.
“The holidays can be an extremely difficult time for the Fallen First Responder families and Gold Star families we serve,” Mr. Siller says. And being able to keep their homes can be a big worry.
Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Israel “D.T.” Del Toro can tell you what this help can mean. In 2005, while serving in Afghanistan, his Humvee was hit by an improvised explosive device—which left him with severe burns, no fingers on his left hand and those on his right amputated at the knuckle. Christmas came early for the Del Toros this year. In October they moved in to a custom-built “smart” home just outside Colorado Springs, Colo.
“For us, it’s like a gift that you never thought you’d get, that you didn’t deserve. Now I open up the back porch door and stare out at my ranch.”
The sergeant’s favorite feature? He can control everything from his smartphone. “When I’m out and my wife’s at home, I sometimes mess with the lights,” he laughs.
In many ways Tunnel to Towers is about Americans taking the initiative. Everyone knows
Ebenezer Scrooge’s
retort in “A Christmas Carol” when asked to do his bit to alleviate the want and misery around him: “Are there no workhouses?” Scrooge wasn’t the first to try to slough off responsibility for his fellow man on some faceless institution.
Mr. Siller asked himself a different question: How can I help? With the assistance of like-minded angels—volunteers as well as donors—he has raised more than $500 million, building 120 custom homes and paying off mortgages for another 480 families. This year they’ve also provided housing for more than 500 homeless vets. It’s impossible to imagine a private effort on this…
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