Gary Sinise Foundation (GSF) hosts more than 700 families of fallen military heroes at Walt Disney World Resort for healing retreat

Orlando, FL -- The Gary Sinise Foundation (GSF), which was established in 2011 under the philanthropic direction of award-winning actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise who has been a staunch supporter of veterans, first responders and defenders for more than 40 years, hosted more than 700 families that included more than 1,800 family members of fallen military heroes at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida for a healing retreat this week. 

Video from the experience can be viewed Below.

The Gary Sinise Foundation supports thousands of families of fallen military heroes year-round through empowerment workshops and regional community events, culminating with an all-expenses paid, five-day experience at Walt Disney World Resort where family members spent time together, honored their fallen loved ones, cultivated relationships, and made special memories together in a safe, warm, and welcoming environment. The event offers an opportunity for families with a common understanding to come together at a time of year when their sense of loss is amplified and builds on Disney’s long legacy of honoring U.S. military service since the company’s founding 100-years ago – beginning with the contributions of its founders Walt and Roy O. Disney during the First World War.

Throughout the experience, families had access to numerous workshops and activities, enjoyed all four Walt Disney World theme parks (Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and Magic Kingdom Park) and honored the memory of their loved ones with the Walk of Gratitude at Magic Kingdom Park on Tuesday morning. On December 5th at sunrise, families were greeted by more than 1,100 Disney VoluntEARS along Main Street, U.S.A. during a special show on the Cinderella Castle stage where messages children wrote to their lost parent were sent skyward on scrolls for them to read, sprinkled with some special Disney magic.

Since the annual GSF Snowball Express event came to Disney World in 2018, this is one of the largest gatherings of families to date with more than 1,800 loved ones coming from more than 80 cities around the Nation and overseas as far as Guam, Europe and Australia. The families arrived through presenting sponsor American Airlines, which flew the families in on special charter flights and hosted special sendoff ceremonies at airports around the country. For nearly 250 families, this was their first time at the retreat.

The origins of the healing retreat date back to 2003 when a fallen service member, U.S. Army Private First-Class Jesse Givens, wrote a letter to his wife before he left for his deployment to Iraq that was only to be opened if he lost his life defending our country. That letter conveyed how much Private First-Class Givens loved his family, along with a list of activities for the family to do, including visiting Disney Parks. That wish would eventually come true when they, and other families of fallen military heroes, visited Disneyland in 2006. Mr. Sinise got involved with the program a year later in 2007 when he volunteered with his band, the Lt. Dan Band, to perform for these special families. In 2017, Gary Sinise Foundation officially took over the program, and the first retreat at Walt Disney World Resort occurred in 2018, starting the annual bringing together of children and surviving spouses of our fallen U.S. military heroes.

Since 2018, nearly 4,000 children of fallen military heroes and their surviving parent/guardian have participated in the healing retreat and the program is one of the Gary Sinise Foundation’s four programmatic pillars to support our Nation’s veterans, first responders, heroes, and defenders. For more information about the Gary Sinise Foundation, please visit www.garysinisefoundation.org.

ABOUT THE GARY SINISE FOUNDATION - Gary Sinise is an award-winning actor and humanitarian, best known for his roles in CSI: NY, Apollo 13, and his Oscar-nominated performance in the film Forrest Gump as the wounded Vietnam veteran Lt. Dan Taylor. An advocate for our nation’s defenders since the 1980s, after 9/11 Sinise began a tireless crusade to support America’s military and first responders around the world with handshake tours and concerts with his band, the Lt. Dan Band. In 2011, he established the Gary Sinise Foundation as an extension of those efforts. Today, the Foundation is building custom homes for severely wounded heroes, honoring and supporting the families of our fallen, providing essential equipment and training for first responders, improving the mental wellness of our defenders, and so much more. For more information and to support, visit www.garysinisefoundation.org.