New York Jets owner Woody Johnson to be honored at Tunnel to Towers gala for decade-long partnership

FIRST ON FOX — New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is being honored at Tunnel to Towers' annual gala being held later this year for his decade-long partnership with the organization.

Tunnel to Towers, founded in 2001 to aid 9/11 first responders, veterans and their families, has been providing mortgage-free smart homes to disabled servicemen as well as housing for homeless veterans.

Johnson's philanthropy with Tunnel to Towers began in 2014 when he donated $1 million to the group's Building for America’s Bravest program.

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Last month, Johnson and Tunnel to Towers surprised Command Sergeant Major William "Bud" McElroy with a new mortgage-free smart home.

"Tunnel to Towers' extraordinary work is a constant reminder of the importance of honoring the memory of the heroes who demonstrated courage and made the ultimate sacrifice for this country," Johnson told Fox News Digital. "Over the past two decades they have channeled grief into action and it's a privilege to be recognized by such an honorable group."

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"Woody Johnson has been standing with our families for more than a decade, and he's never once asked for anything in return," Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller said in a statement. "Because of Woody, his family, and the Betty Wood Johnson Foundation, six catastrophically injured veterans are living in specially adapted smart homes today, and first responder families across this country are keeping their homes."

"My brother Stephen ran toward people who needed him without asking what it would cost him — Woody has been doing the same thing for twelve years. There's no one more deserving of the Follow the Footsteps Award, which we will be presenting to him at our gala in December," Siller added.

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The gala honoring Johnson will take place in December.

Johnson previously served as the US ambassador to the United Kingdom during the first Trump administration and is a founding trustee of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.