Gary Sinise Hopes to Give Families of Fallen Soldiers Some Joy at Disney World

The Gary Sinise Foundation is hosting more than 1,750 members of Gold Star Families at Walt Disney World. Over a thousand children of fallen soldiers will experience the joys of “The Most Magical Place On Earth” for five days thanks to Gary Sinise.

Gold Star Families

Sinise continues giving back to our veterans and their families. This grateful American has devoted so much of his time and money. He visited one of the flights from Snowball Express #14 filled with the children and families of American heroes before it left Los Angeles.

As you can see in the tweeted video below, the children and Sinise were very excited about making the trip to Disney World. Sinise clearly gets so much joy in being able to provide these children with such a terrific experience. RELATED: Actor Gary Sinise Expands His Veterans Advocacy To Help K-9 Heroes Too

These Gold Star Families don’t have to be concerned with the cost as the Gary Sinise Foundation covers everything. They just get to relax and have fun with other children who have lost a parent while serving our nation. RELATED: Gary Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band Rocks Out For Thousands Of Veterans

“We offer services, resources, events, having some time in the park — anything to really give them a place of reprieve and a place to sort of have a space to feel joy and grieve during what is traditionally the hardest time of the year for them,” Khristina Cook, corporate relations manager for the Gary Sinise Foundation, said.

American Airlines donated the airfare and the kids were treated with water cannon salutes along the way.

Gary Sinise’s Snowball Express

Sinise care so much about the children and their families. And there are a lot of them. Since 2001, more than 2 million American children have experienced the deployment of at least one parent. And, almost 3,500 children of fallen military heroes and their surviving parent or guardian have joined the Sinise Foundation’s Snowball Express since 2018.

Here’s a brief history of the Snowball Express:

The Gary Sinise Foundation inaugurated the annual “Snowball Express” almost 15 years ago. The ball got rolling after Sinise learned of a letter — written in advance, just in case — from a KIA vet to his wife. I’ve never been able to find the vet’s name, but among other things, he wrote that he wanted to take the family to a Disney theme park when he returned home from war. That didn’t happen, of course, but since 2006, the Sinise Foundation has flown thousands and thousands of gold star families on trips for “guilt-free fun and beneficial resources in a stress-free environment.” The name Snowball Express comes from a Disney live-action comedy released in 1972.

Take a look at this video of last year’s Snowball Express.