Kappa Sigma Volunteers for Tunnels to Towers

Written by: Peter Rapaglia

On the morning of September 25th, the brothers of Kappa Sigma took the 5:30 ferry to Manhattan for a day of volunteer work. That day was for the annual Tunnels to Towers 5k run. As volunteers, we would go along the streets of lower Manhattan holding banners of our fallen soldiers who have passed since 9/11.

We were stationed on liberty street cheering on the passing runners, handing them water and Gatorades. Along with us came one of our alumni James DiGiacamo, “I think it’s great what we’re doing. As someone related to first responders, coming to support the city’s biggest philanthropy is a very important thing to me.” The run went on from 10:00 to 1:00, the runners all started from the tunnel and ended on Vessy Street. Our treasurer, Matthew Geary was very happy to be there, “Volunteering at the Tunnels to Towers run on Sunday was very eye-opening to me. It showed me how brave our heroes are and it gave me a better appreciation for service to the New York community.” As someone who grew up in Tottenville, we grew up around the corner from the 123 Precinct and FDNY Engine 151, Matt and I know many first responders and were the first ones to sign up.

While we were there we passed the memorial waterfall and looked upon the freedom tower. The day was a spectacle, a nice September morning and we watched the JROTC line up and collect the banners to hold. Each banner showed four fallen soldiers who have been killed in the line of duty. It really showed me the types of sacrifices these people have made and really made me appreciate it more.

“Tunnels to Towers was a very great experience,” said our president John De George, “I’m really looking forward to it next year where we can get more brothers and more people to come down.”

From seeing all of our experiences, this event was very important to us. Staten Island is a small borough, and a majority of people are related to or would know a first responder, I myself, am no exception. We had a great experience helping out, and hope we can do it again next year.