Gary Sinise Sends Over 1,000 Children Of Fallen Military Heroes To Disney World

Gary Sinise has spent years going above and beyond to help American military veterans and their families, but he really outdid himself this month by sending over 1,000 children of fallen military heroes to Disney World!

Sinise Sends Families Of Fallen Military Heroes To Disney World

Earlier this month, almost 2,000 family members of fallen military heroes gathered at Disney World in Florida for five days thanks to the Gary Sinise Foundation. This gathering was the first in-person Snowball Express, a program that supports the families of fallen military heroes, in over three years after it had to go virtual during the pandemic. 

“This year we had a lot of new families, young children who had never experienced Snowball before,” Sinise told Fox News. 

“They’re all going through the same thing – either a death in combat or a loss through illness or suicide or whatever tragic circumstance took their loved one away,” he continued. “They’re all dealing with the same thing, and they’re all sharing their stories, and they’re realizing, ‘Hey, you know, this person really understands what I’m going through.'”

The Snowball Express is meant to help family members spend time together while also honoring their fallen loved ones. It also allows the children of fallen military heroes to meet others who are going through the same thing as they are.

“We had upwards of 1,900 people involved, and 1,151 of them were children,” Sinise said. “It was the largest number of families and children to date. We’ve always tried to accommodate 800 to 1,000 kids. But, you know, we’re growing.”

Find out more about this in the video below.

Related: Gary Sinise Foundation Gives Triple Amputee Tennessee Veteran Mortgage-Free Smart Home

Snowball Express Is Ultimate Christmas Present 

Christmas is a difficult time for the children of fallen military heroes, which is why Sinise decided that this is the perfect time of year to do the Snowball Express. 

“That’s why we do it [Snowball Express] in December,” the Forrest Gump star explained. “It’s a tough time for the kids … the holidays and missing their fallen hero. We want to bring them together and put our arms around them.”

“We have an amazing group of volunteers and corporate sponsors that have gotten involved to celebrate the kids and to bring them together at the most magical place on Earth,” he continued. “We provide all kinds of entertainment. We provide services, we provide counseling, we provide lots of fun. It’s really a magnificent event and really … it’s one of our signature events at the end of the year. Because it’s so large, it requires so many things.”

Sinise concluded by thanking American Airlines for acting as the travel sponsor for this event. 

“We had over a thousand hotel rooms this year,” he said. “We take over about half of the Coronado Springs hotel down there. Disney World is a fun place to take them, and there’s nothing like it, really, in terms of something like this for Gold Star children.”

Find out more about this in the video below. 

Related: Gary Sinise Honors Clint Eastwood For His Service During The Korean War

Sinise Goes Above And Beyond For Military Veterans

Sinise has spent years helping military veterans and their families through his eponymous foundation, and he’s not slowing down anytime soon.

“Freedom and security are precious gifts that we, as Americans, should never take for granted,” Sinise once said. “We must do all we can to extend our hand in times of need to those who willingly sacrifice each day to provide that freedom and security. While we can never do enough to show gratitude to our nation’s defenders, we can always do a little more.”

American military veterans don’t get nearly the respect that they deserve these days, particularly from the liberal world of Hollywood. God bless Sinise for using his platform to help our military heroes and their families in such incredible ways!