Stockings Raises $55K for Wounded Veteran

By Katie McFadden

Sergeant Jason Walker is getting a new smart home. Thanks to the efforts of a wildly successful Stockings for a Cause, the wounded veteran is receiving a whopping $55,000 towards his smart home, being made possible by Tunnel to Towers (T2T). At the Graybeards dinner on Saturday, February 3, Stockings organizer Eugene Brennan was able to hand over the check to Frank Siller, Chairman and CEO of T2T.

When Brennan set out to do another Stockings for a Cause fundraiser in 2023, Walker’s story caught his attention. A single father of two boys in Oregon, Walker served with both the U.S. Marines and U.S. Army for more than a decade. On his third deployment in 2013, as a combat engineer, Walker dismantled IEDs and cleared roads for his unit. On one of his last missions, Walker stepped on an IED, losing his left leg, suffering from severe injuries to his right leg and a traumatic brain injury. For a decade, Walker has dealt with hardships and now thanks to T2T and the money from Stockings, life may get a little easier as construction moves forward on his adaptable home.

Walker couldn’t make the event on Saturday night at The Rockaway Hotel, but Brennan was surprised by who did accept his invitation. “When I was talking to T2T, I was hoping to get Frank Siller to come and accept the check and they said he had some stuff going on and they were sending a couple other guys,” Brennan said. “Sure enough, I walk in and there’s Frank and it was like meeting a rockstar. He’s an amazing man and I’m so happy I was able to hand him the check. He got up there and gave an awesome speech.”

Raising $55K through Stockings, Brennan beat his goal of $50K, making it the most money ever raised through the cause he started 12 years ago to raise funds for a wounded veteran in need. Brennan says the big amount was made possible by expanded participation, including more than 13 local restaurants offering to take part, and this year, St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy got into the spirit. “Some of the kids donated their own money and Lisa Hayden was an enormous part, getting parents to buy stockings on report card night,” he said. He also said Buckley’s in Brooklyn and Kennedy’s in Breezy Point joined in this year, raising $6,000 alone.

Brennan was blown away by the support this past holiday season. “It means the world. Every year. Rockaway constantly supports and it’s getting bigger and bigger each year. That was my goal, and now that we’ve been teaming up with T2T, I’d like to keep on taking this goal further and maybe one day have the ability to fund a whole house for someone. There’s a lot being done for people coming over the border into the country, but nothing is being done for the people who fought for it, and it breaks my heart,” Brennan said.

While Walker wasn’t able to be there Saturday, Brennan did have the opportunity to speak to him about the money raised. “He was kind of speechless and couldn’t thank me enough and the people involved,” Brennan recalled. “Even though we never met each other, the fact that we were able to support him and his two kids is spectacular.”

Brennan says he’s already planning for the 2024 Stockings for a Cause, and this time, working with T2T, he hopes to support someone more local. “We’re going to bring it back to the city and see what we can do for somebody here,” he said.