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Gary Sinise’s Foundation Just Sent Hundreds Of Families To Disney World

By Alisha McKinney
Published on: 07:03 PST, Dec 14, 2018

Fans of the Oscar-winning film Forest Gump will recognize the familiar face of Gary Sinise as having played the character of much-adored Lieutenant Dan. Sinise is an American actor who has won an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and has been nominated for an Academy Award. But besides acting, Sinise is also a supporter of and part of various organizations. He even performs on USO tours at military bases and is on the Advisory Council of Hope For The Warriors, which is a national nonprofit dedicated to providing full non-medical care to combat wounded service members, their families, and families of fallen service members.

The list of his support goes on, and as if that weren’t enough, he also has his own foundation, the Gary Sinise Foundation. Fox News recently reported that the Gary Sinise Foundation sent more than 600 Gold Star families to Disney World for the month of December.

The actor and humanitarian made an announcement on Twitter, where he shared a photograph to fans featuring parents and children on a plane headed for the amusement park.

“Over 1,000 Gold Star children travel with the surviving parent, 1,750 in all, via American Airlines to Disney World today as part of our [Gary Sinise Foundation] Snowball Express program. This charter left LAX this morning. I’ll join up in a few days. Have fun kids! We love you!”

The plane interior in the photograph is decked out in plastic Christmas wreaths accompanied by all of the smiling parents and their children as they head toward the theme park often called the “happiest place on earth.” The Gary Sinise Foundation website has stated that they understand how challenging the holiday season can be for grieving families and that they are happy to help in any way that they possibly can.

“The holidays can be especially challenging for grieving families. Each December, we host a five-day experience for 1,750+ children of the fallen and their surviving parent or guardian. As a therapeutic retreat with a blend of fun and inspiring programs, these families can lean on their peers for support. And this year we’re bringing Snowball Express to Walt Disney World Resort!”

Since the attacks on September 11, 2001, Gary Sinise has devoted a lot of his time to supporting those who fight to prevent terror attacks. Many, such as Patricia Heaton from the hit television sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, have called for TIME to recognize Sinise as Person of the Year for all of his charity and humanitarian work

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