Actor Gary Sinise Took Over 1,000 Children of Fallen Soldiers To Disney World For Free

The Snowball Express's goal is to bring joy to children of fallen military soldiers by taking them, free of charge, to the most magical place on earth: Disney World.

Elana

• Published in Disney
• December 9, 2019

Gary Sinise is an award-winning actor who has put on a director, musician, and producer hat plenty of times. But perhaps his most noteworthy "hat" is that of philanthropist. This rings most especially true for his charity, The Gary Sinise Foundation.

At the Gary Sinise Foundation, we serve our nation by honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need. We do this by creating and supporting unique programs designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communities.

In 2017, his foundation launched a program called, "The Snowball Express." The Snowball Express's goal is to bring joy to children of fallen military soldiers by taking them, free of charge, to the most magical place on earth: Disney World.

Sinise is well known for his enthusiastic support of the US military.

Freedom and security are precious gifts that we, as Americans, should never take for granted. 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.

- Gary Sinise

Recently, Sinise took 1,750 kids via plane to Disney World for an all-inclusive 5 night stay. Easily, a single child could have cost over $1,000 to visit the famous Orlando theme park.

In an interview with CBS Los Angeles, Sinise said:

The most important thing about [Snowball Express] is that these children don’t feel alone. There’s a lot of healing and a lot of bonding and a lot of friendship that goes on that helps them through the rest of the year,

Sinise has said in the past that each of the programs The Foundation offers are inspired by his 4-decades worth of experiences with military personal, first responders, and their family members. When it comes to The Snowball Express, which serves the children, he says:

It's such a great feeling to see them healing, smiling, and having fun.

Sinise is personally involved, even taking photos as children and families board planes and enjoy the park. Photos are shared on the Foundation's Instagram.

The children as well as their surviving parents received “we remember” pins at an event where their fallen family members were honored by the Sinise Foundation. At the event, 600 flags were lined up to represent each of their loved ones who died due to their service with the US military.

Sinise said:

Each one of these children ...have lost a parent in military services – either combat related or illness or unfortunately suicide sometimes. We wanna take care of these kids and make sure they know we don't forget.

Check out this heartwarming video that recapped the last event:

As to be expected, the Internet has responded with tons of enthusiasm for Gary Sinise and the work of his foundation.

The Forrest Gump actor is admired in the veteran community.

Even Vietnam families have a lot of respect for what Sinise has been doing.

"A lot of people talk..." But not Sinise. He's been getting hands-on experience helping the families and people he admires so much.

"You are one in a million!"

Who wouldn't want to shake his hand?

Thank you!

Appreciation goes both ways when it comes to Gary Sinise.

Oh yeah, Gary Sinise wrote a whole book about how much he's grateful to be an American.

It's pretty popular, and I guess it's not hard to see why!

People have lots of praises to sing for Gary Sinise.

And it's not just for his acting skills, clearly.

If you feel moved by Gary's foundation, you can find ways to give back here.

Let us know in the comments what you think of Sinise's generous act!

Elana