Registration is now open for the annual Tunnel to Towers Foundation Tempe 5K Run/Walk at Tempe Beach Park.

The event begins at 8 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, at the park’s 9/11 Healing Field, located at 80 W. Rio Salado Parkway.

The event is produced by and raises funds for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which was established in memory of Stephen Siller, a fallen 9/11 firefighter, a press release explained. 

The foundation’s mission is to honor and support first responders and the military through these events. There are now more than 80 run/walk and climb series that take place throughout the country — all with the intent to never forget.

John Herold, who lost his brother Gary in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11, has served as the volunteer event director with his wife Stella for the past eight years, which has aided the family in their healing process. 

“To grieve is a tribute. To remember is a blessing. To overcome and help others is a victory in the eyes of those we have lost,” Herold said in the release.

During this year’s event in Tempe, the foundation’s Follow the Footsteps Award will be dedicated and presented to a local community public safety officer. The event will also honor and celebrate all of Arizona’s first responders — fire, police, EMT, paramedics and others — as well as military service heroes who serve, sacrifice and protect the community every day.

The Tunnels to Towers Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing services for the nation’s first responders, military and their families. 

Through its Smart Home program, dozens of customized high-tech smart homes have been built throughout the country for catastrophically injured service members, the release added. These homes, created primarily for those who are now triple- and quadruple amputees as a result of IED explosions, have specialized features that operate off iPads, allowing these heroes to lead as independent lives as possible. 

The foundation also supports the families of fallen first responders by assisting in paying off their mortgages and helping Gold Star Families with their home purchases and mortgages.

Event registration is now open; participants can sign up via runsignup.com/Race/AZ/Tempe/TunneltoTowers5KRunWalkTempeAZ. Donations and volunteers are also always welcome. 

For more about Tunnels to Towers’ run/walk and climb series, visit t2t.org/our-programs/national-run-walk-climb-series/.