Tunnels to Towers Chicago Tower Climb Raises $44,000 for Hero Families

A New Chapter in a 25th Anniversary Week

On September 12, 2026, the Tunnels to Towers Foundation held its inaugural Chicago Tower Climb at 150 North Riverside Plaza in the city's West Loop, where participants scaled 50 flights of stairs to raise $44,000 for the foundation's mission. The event came just one day after the foundation marked the 25th anniversary of 9/11, a week when the organization's work was front and center across the country.

Tower climbs are a powerful symbol for this foundation. They echo the sacrifice of first responders who climbed the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, and they turn that memory into action that builds mortgage-free homes for the families of fallen heroes and catastrophically injured veterans.

A Week of Remembrance and Action

The Chicago climb capped a remarkable stretch for the foundation. On September 11, 2026, the 25th anniversary of the attacks, Tunnels to Towers announced 55 new mortgage payoffs providing mortgage-free homes for fallen first responders' and veterans' families. These are part of the "343 Homes: A Living Memorial" campaign, which is delivering 343 mortgage-free homes in 2026 in tribute to the 343 FDNY members lost on 9/11.

That same week, the foundation's Steel Across America tour concluded at its 40th stop in New York, with the Siller family retracing Stephen Siller's final footsteps alongside the recovered World Trade Center steel beam. It was a week of remembering, but it was also a week of building and giving.

A Southern California Connection

Right here in Southern California, the foundation brought its mission to the coast with the first-ever Huntington Beach 5K Run & Walk on September 19, 2026. For those of us living here, it is a rare chance to take part in the Tunnels to Towers mission close to home. I shared the full details and why the event matters in my earlier post: Tunnels to Towers Huntington Beach 5K: Why This September Event Matters for Southern California.

And on September 27, 2026, the landmark 25th Tunnel to Towers NYC 5K Run & Walk takes place in Brooklyn, New York, drawing thousands of participants who honor Stephen Siller's legacy. Together with the Huntington Beach event, this September is a season of service, remembrance, and action for the foundation.

Why This Matters

The Tunnels to Towers Foundation has provided more than 17,500 veterans with housing and dedicated hundreds of mortgage-free smart homes to Gold Star families and first responders. The 343-home living memorial planned for 2026 is one of the most ambitious milestones in the foundation's history, and every climb, every 5K, and every donation moves it forward.

As a U.S. Army veteran, a REALTOR serving families across Santa Clarita and Southern California, and a supporter of the Tunnels to Towers mission, I believe these moments matter. They remind us that service does not end when you take off the uniform. It continues through how we show up for one another. Service Before Self is not a slogan. It is how we take care of the people who take care of us.

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