The Tunnel to Towers Foundation — first created to honor a Sept. 11 hero — has established a new multi-million dollar fund to support frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, including law enforcement in New Jersey.

The COVID-19 Heroes Fund, which had raised upwards of $5,000,000 as of April 26, announced it will help pay the mortgage of the first Paterson police officer to die from COVID-19, 34-year-old Francesco Scorpo.

Scorpo died on April 12, leaving behind his wife, Kristina, and two young sons, 4-year-old Francisco Jr. and 6-month-old Santino, according to Paterson Police. The Foundation said it was committed to paying the mortgage on his home for one year, through its COVID-19 Heroes Fund.

The new fund setup by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation also is supporting frontline health care workers by providing meals and personal protective equipment. The fund also will give financial relief through temporary mortgage payments should a health care worker lose their life to COVID-19 and leave behind young children, according to the foundation's website.

The organization is named after a New York City firefighter who gave his life on 9/11 after running with 60 pounds of gear from the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers. The organization helps military men and women, law enforcement and emergency responders across the nation.

Back in December, the nonprofit presented a mortgage-free, new smart home to a disabled veteran in Howell.

It also announced that it would pay off the mortgage of slain Jersey City Police Detective Joseph Seals, who was shot dead by gunmen involved in the Dec. 10 massacre in Jersey City.

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