Staten Island, NY, Aug. 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is announcing the cancellation of its 2020 Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk - New York City and the launch of a nationwide Never Forget Virtual Challenge.
Set to take place on September 27, the 2020 Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk - New York City is being canceled due to citywide restrictions on large events amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each year, more than 30,000 people from all over the world participate in this event.
The Foundation is officially launching its Never Forget Virtual Challenge today to virtually engage participants to pay tribute and remember the fallen, empowering people across America to honor the 2,977 who gave their lives on September 11, 2001.
“We must remember the sacrifices made for us on 9/11, when America was attacked and our lives changed forever. Our Never Forget Virtual Challenge enables people across this great country – of all ages and from every state, city and on every street – to safely participate and show the world that we are keeping the promise that we made 19 years ago. America will Never Forget,” said Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller.
Starting Monday, August 24, 2020 and running through October 19, 2020, anyone interested in taking part in the virtual challenge can register at www.tunnel2towers.org/NeverForgetVirtualChallenge to participate in their own meaningful way in remembering all of those we lost at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Tunnel to Towers encourages you to take part in this nationwide, virtual event. Show your support for those we lost on 9/11, and those who lost their lives or became catastrophically injured protecting our freedom in our United States Armed Forces.
“During such divisive, uncertain times, it is more important than ever for Americans to be reminded and to be given an opportunity to unite like we did on 9/11 and thereafter, to remember those who gave their lives for us,” said Siller.
The annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk - New York City is now considered by many to be one of the top 5K runs in America. The event lets participants retrace the final footsteps of Stephen Siller, a Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) firefighter, who ran through the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (formerly known as the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel) to the Twin Towers to save lives on 9/11 while giving his own, along with so many others. 2020 marks the first year since the inaugural event in 2002 that the public will not be able to follow in the footsteps of Stephen Siller, who the Foundation was created in honor of. To date, more than 500,000 people have followed in those footsteps.
The Never Forget Virtual Challenge kickoff follows Tunnel to Towers announcing that it is stepping in to safely continue the hallowed tradition of family members reading victims’ names and illuminating the sky with a “Towers of Light” tribute in the Washington, DC area and in Shanksville, PA on September 11, 2020. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum canceled this year’s annual name-reading ceremony and Tribute in Light in New York City, before reversing its decision on the beams of light following public outcry.
Help Tunnel to Towers to Do Good and honor America’s heroes. Take part in the Never Forget Virtual Challenge, or donate $11 a month at tunnel2towers.org.
About the Tunnel to Towers Foundation
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s mission is to honor the sacrifice of FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2001. To date, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation has spent over $250 million to honor and support our first responders and veterans and their families.
For more about the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, please visit tunnel2towers.org.
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