The Gary Sinise Foundation hosts Snowball Express 2018
at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida
Credit: Gary Sinise Foundation
For years prior to that American tragedy, Sinise was already moving
toward the place he is today, at the epicenter of a wide-range of
initiatives designed to support and honor American servicemen and
women. Since playing Lieutenant Dan, the actor has been devoting
even more time to supporting active-service troops and veterans,
going on USO tours — during which he started the Lt. Dan Band with
a group of Chicago friends and musicians to entertain the troops —
working with the Disabled American Veterans Charity organization and
others, and, in 2011, establishing the Gary Sinise Foundation.
To achieve the foundation’s goals of “honoring our defenders,
veterans, first responders, their families and those in need,” Sinise
and his partners are working to create and support unique programs
“designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen and build
communities.” As Sinise explains in Grateful American, the foundation
uses a multi-pronged attack to address the issues of American veterans
and first responders. These include programs like R.I.S.E. (Restoring
Independence Supporting Empowerment), which builds “specially
adapted smart homes for our most wounded heroes.” Fifty-five
mortgage-free homes have been built so far, and many other houses
and vehicles have been modified to meet specific needs.
Another program, Relief + Resiliency, offers more support for military
families — before, during, and after the battle — in a variety of ways,
including several special events. This includes the Snowball Express
program, for children of fallen soldiers and their surviving parent or
guardian. “Snowball Express was started by a couple of veterans, a
couple of guys who just wanted to do something for the children of
our fallen heroes. They thought, ‘Well, let’s see if we can figure out a
rallied some support and they brought almost 800 kids there for four
days,” Sinise remembers.
Sinise got involved in 2007 and soon brought the whole organization
into the foundation as a program under its umbrella. “With my having
a great relationship with Disney,” he remembers, “We were able to
make a nice arrangement to take all the kids and families down to
Disney World right before Christmas in 2018 — more than 1,700 of
them — for four days. It’s a great way for these children who have lost
a parent to meet each other. We give them a lot of joy and a lot of love
and a lot of fun,” he says. “They do a lot of healing, because they’re
meeting a lot of other kids that are going through the same thing.”
Other events hosted and organized by the foundation include The
Invincible Spirit Festivals, which welcome wounded servicemen
and -women and their families. It’s here that Sinise finds yet more
motivation for his cause. “I would see very, very badly wounded folks,
but yet they were pushing forward in their lives, trying to do great
things, not letting their injuries get them down, and that would always
be inspirational to me.” At Concerts for Defenders, led by the 13-piece
Lt. Dan Band and held in different locations around the country, the
bass-playing Sinise brings both cheers and tribute to those who serve
to protect our freedom, security, and well-being.
Perhaps the best evidence of the foundation’s success is its ever
growing size. Sinise began the work with one collaborator and his own
personal investment of time and money; today, the foundation boasts
26 ambassadors representing the foundation, has over 50,000
way to get a bunch of these kids to Disneyland.’ And so, in 2006, they
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SUMMER 2019
9 FLYWASHINGTON.COM