Actor Gary Sinise gifts over 1,000 children of fallen military heroes a five-day break at Orlando's Walt Disney World
More than 1,000 children of fallen soldiers got an early Christmas present at Walt Disney World as part of a program led by actor Gary Sinise.
As reported by Fox News, around 1,750 relatives of military heroes had been flown to Orlando on Saturday via the Snowball Express for a five-day break at the resort. The Gary Sinise Foundation partners with American Airlines in order to provide free vacations to families from across the US every December.
On its website, the Gary Sinise Foundation shared, "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!"
On Saturday, December 7, Sinise took to Twitter to share that more than 1,000 'Gold Star Children' were headed for the annual program. He had written Today begins our GSF Snowball Express #14. Over 1000 Gold Star Children travel with surviving parent or guardian, over 1,750 in all, via our travel partner @AmericanAir to Disney World as part of our @GarySiniseFound Snowball Express program."
"This charter left Los Angeles this morning with 91 kids, 176 in all, and I got to take these photos with them before they left. I'll join up in a few days. Have fun kids! We love you!" Pictures taken over the weekend show many hundreds of children enjoying the Walt Disney World while Sinise posed with Snowball Express families.
The charity had been started in 2006 by "a few people that wanted to focus on healing and to help the children of our fallen heroes". After Sinise was shown a video of the event, he signed up to support the charity in 2007. In 2011, he founded the Gary Sinise Foundation of which Snowball Express became a part of in 2017.