Staten Island, NY, April 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation announced it will be providing financial support to the family of fallen Paterson, NJ police officer Francesco ‘Frank’ Scorpo.
Officer Scorpo is the first Paterson officer to lose his life due to complications from COVID-19. He passed away two weeks ago on April 12, Easter Sunday.
He leaves behind his wife, Kristina, a nurse, and their two young sons, 4-year-old Francesco Jr. and 6-month-old Santino.
The Foundation will pay the mortgage on the Scorpo’s home until the COVID-19 Heroes Fund is depleted.
"My husband, Frank, will be remembered for his two loves in life: his family and his career as a police officer. Frank aspired to be a police officer from a young age, and we were thrilled when he was accepted to the Bergen County Police Academy. His dreams and hard work were finally realized when he graduated and joined the Paterson Police Department in 2015. Frank was dedicated to serving the Paterson community, and looked forward to work each day. He truly loved his job as a police officer, and was motivated by his work to protect and serve others. I’m incredibly grateful to The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation for their generosity, which will enable me to raise my children in the home Frank and I shared. I would like to thank the Foundation for honoring my husband’s service, and for helping me to keep his memory in our home," said Kristina Scorpo.
“The Scorpo family is a family dedicated to public service,” said Frank Siller, Chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. “Officer Scorpo served his New Jersey community for five years as a police officer. His wife Kristina is a nurse, and has faced this horrible virus head-on through patient care. Both of them went to work bravely each day, knowing they were putting their own lives at risk in order to help others. My hope is that, in lifting this financial burden off of Kristina’s shoulders, she can grieve and focus on her two young boys with greater peace of mind.”
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation established the COVID-19 Heroes Fund in response to the growing pandemic with an initial pledge of $3 million and has subsequently grown it to $4.5 million--and counting--to support America’s heroes.
To address the overwhelming need, the Foundation has set a goal to raise $10 million in support of our nation’s frontline heroes.
These funds will be used to support frontline health care workers and first responders by providing personal protective equipment, meals, and financial relief through temporary mortgage payments to the families of those who lose their lives to COVID-19 and leave behind young children.
So far the Foundation has been able to secure over 500,000 pieces of PPE including masks, gowns and face shields to distribute throughout New York and New Jersey. The Foundation is working to expand the delivery of PPE to frontline health care workers and first responders in additional states next week.
The Foundation has delivered thousands of meals to police stations and fire houses throughout the city dropping off hot meals to the essential workers who are keeping us safe through this pandemic.
The Foundation has identified 15 families of fallen health care workers it will help financially by taking on their mortgage payments temporarily. These heroes, from hot spot areas all over the country, lost their lives by working on the front lines as nurses, nursing home workers and EMTs while leaving behind young children.
Additional support came from Conor McGregor’s Proper No.Twelve Irish Whiskey, which donated $100,000 to the Tunnel to Towers COVID-19 Heroes Fund.
You can join Proper No.Twelve's effort to raise additional funds to support Tunnel to Towers by purchasing a 'ONE FOR ALL' T-Shirt. 100% of the price you pay for these 'ONE FOR ALL' T-Shirts will go to the Tunnel to Towers COVID-19 Heroes Fund. Shirt sales have already surpassed $50,000.
The shirts are on sale at ProperWhiskey.com
Please go to Tunnel2Towers.org and consider a $11 per month pledge to support our COVID-19 Heroes Fund.
The front lines may change with the emergencies we face, but the support of Tunnel to Towers is unwavering. You can help Tunnel to Towers give EVEN MORE to these heroes.
About the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation
The Stephen Siller 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.
Follow Tunnel to Towers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @Tunnel2Towers.
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