GM Foundation Donates $50,000 to Steven Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation

DETROIT, September 29, 2014 /3BL Media/ – The General Motors Foundation donated $50,000 to the Steven Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation to help build specialized, adapted homes for injured U.S. military veterans. GM’s Customer Care and Aftersales Veterans Group also gave $126,000 toward the cause during a recent event in New York City.

Siller was a New York firefighter who died trying to save others on September 11, 2001.

“Supporting our nation’s military heroes and their families is extremely important to us,” said Alan Batey, President, GM North America and GM Foundation board member. “Through the GM Foundation’s donation to the Steven Siller Foundation, we will help provide our veterans with the stability of a safe and permanent home.”

Batey, who presented the $50,000 GM Foundation grant to support the “Building for America’s Bravest” initiative, was joined by GM’s U.S. Sales and Service vice president Steve Hill, who presented the $126,000 on behalf of the Customer Care and Aftersales Veterans Group. It is one of several GM groups that advocate for current military and transitioning service members.

“General Motors has a long history of supporting the military,” said Hill. “Today we are committed to supporting our veterans in three key aspects of their lives: helping them find a job after their military service; helping them purchase a GM vehicle, and working with organizations like the Steven Siller Foundation to help veterans find a place to live. 

“We’re committed to giving back to those who have given so much of themselves to keep our country safe,” Hill said.

The donations were announced at the 13^th annual Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers (T2T) 5K Run & Walk in New York City yesterday, where participants had the opportunity to retrace Siller’s final footsteps.

Since the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s inception in 2002, the annual New York City event and related activities have raised more than $35 million for its various initiatives and programs, including supporting catastrophically injured service members through the Building for America’s Bravestprogram.

About the GM Foundation
Since its inception in 1976, the GM Foundation has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to American charities, educational organizations and to disaster relief efforts worldwide. The GM Foundation focuses on supporting Education, Health and Human Services, the Environment and Community Development initiatives, mainly in the communities where GM operates. Funding of the GM Foundation comes solely from GM. The last contribution to the GM Foundation was made in 2001. For more information, visit www.gm.com/gmfoundation.

About The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation
The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation is a charitable organization set up to follow the footsteps of FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, who ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, carrying 60 pounds of gear on his back, to rescue his fellow New Yorkers. Siller lost his life when the towers collapsed, leaving his wife, five children and six siblings to carry on his memory and share his story. One of the primary missions of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation is to honor the military members who have been seriously injured and sacrificed their quality of life in the line of duty. We believe that the Foundation is a real and concrete way to Follow the Footsteps of an American hero. The Foundation has established the LEGACY OF LOVE and NEVER FORGET programs as our way to make a lasting and positive difference in the lives of others. These programs, together with the Foundation’s Building for America’s Bravest program, bring hope to grieving children and healing to firefighters and our nation’s most catastrophically injured service members, who sacrifice life and limb in the line of duty. To find out more about the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, please visit www.Tunnel2Towers.org