“I can’t even begin to explain how T2T has helped my family,” said his wife Rebecca Feola in a statement. “They are angels who have come in our darkest hour to ensure our family doesn’t have to leave the only home we know in a community made up of family and friends.”
“This week, to recognize the losses of our military, we celebrate Memorial Day, and we’re paying off 36 mortgages,” said John Huvane, a Tunnel to Towers Foundation VP and retired New York Police Department detective.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation was founded after 9/11 to “do good” by providing homes and paying off mortgages for fallen first responders’ families with young children and adapting homes for injured veterans and first responders.
On Nov. 2, 2023, Luca Feola lost his battle with cancer at 47 years old, leaving behind his wife Rebecca and two daughters. Feola served in the Marine Corps and as a firefighter in Norwalk for 20 years. In 2011, he was promoted to deputy fire marshal.
“A case like Luca, he served his country and his community,” Huvane said.
With the goal of supporting families who gave so much back to their community, Tunnel to Towers aims to help families with young children.
“We step in and we pay off the mortgage or, if they do not own a home, we buy them a home so the children do not have to lose their friends, their community,” Huvane said.
This year, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation is going to pay off 200 mortgages and build 40 small homes for veterans and first responders.
Chemicals called PFAS, or polyfluoroalkyl substances, are used in firefighting gear and have been linked to cancer.
“Those toxins, much like 9/11 toxins, hit them and they end up getting an aggressive form of cancer or other ailments, respiratory ailments,” Huvane said.
Tunnels to Towers Foundation raises money through various fundraising events and through an $11 a month donation system.
