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Tunnel to Towers aides Long family
Mortgage payoff part of Season of Hope
tunnels to towers

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation announced this week that it has paid off the mortgage on the family home of fallen Long County Deputy Sheldon Whiteman in full, six months after it announced the family’s acceptance into its Fallen First Responder Home Program.

Deputy Whiteman lost his life in the line of duty when his patrol car crashed during a vehicle pursuit on January 23, off E.B. Cooper Highway.

On January 30, 2020, Jerry Jonathan Englum, 22, of Ridgeland, South Carolina was arrested for Homicide by Vehicle, Fleeing and Attempting to Elude, and Reckless Driving.

During the investigation, it was determined that Englum was the driver of the vehicle being pursued on the morning of January 23 which resulted in Whiteman’s death. Englum had numerous outstanding Felony Warrants from Liberty County, Georgia. The U. S. Marshal’s located and arrested Englum without incident, in Colleton, Walterboro County, South Carolina Whiteman is survived by his wife, Alisa- Ann, and their three sons, A’ron, Arion and Shiloh.

“I’ve stayed so faithful to God, and trusted Him for His continuous vision. I know His love and His favor is upon my family, even as He holds my warrior in His arms. I thank God for your blessings in our life,” Alisa-Ann said upon receiving the news.

This is the fourth home in the Tunnel to Towers’ second annual Season of Hope, during which it will deliver 36 mortgage-free homes between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Fallen First Responder Home Program, created in 2015, pays off mortgages for the families of law enforcement officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty who leave behind young children. The Foundation’s goal is to ensure stability and security to families facing sudden tragic loss.

Earlier this month, Tunnel to Towers paid off the mortgage on the home of slain Smyrna Police Officer Christopher Ewing, and provided a mortgage-free smart home to U.S. Army Captain Dan Berschinski in Atlanta. In 2019, the Foundation paid off the mortgage on the home of slain Savannah Police Sergeant Kelvin Ansari and provided a mortgage-free home in Bloomingdale to Gold Star widow Katie Celiz, who lost her husband, Army SFC Christopher Celiz, in 2018.

You can help Tunnel to Towers provide mortgage- free homes to the families of fallen first responders, injured veterans, and Gold Star families by donating $11 per month at tunnel2towers.org.

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