Veterans are true heroes who have sacrificed so much for our country. It is so important to honor them but at the same time, it is also important to honor their families who have shown their support the whole way through.

This famous actor — Gary Sinise — has been doing this for years! He is best known for playing a disabled war veteran called Lieutenant Dan in the Academy Award-winning film Forrest Gump, and now he is putting his fame and fortune to great use.

Not only has Sinise played the part of a war veteran, but he has continued to honor actual veterans in real life for many years.

One of his great acts of kindness including taking over a thousand children of fallen war heroes to Disneyland — and of course, he covered each and every kid’s bill. Sounds like a dream to us!

How was he able to cover all of those bills, you ask?

Well, he actually paid for it through his charity, the Gary Sinise Foundation, which was founded in 2011. There, he helps heroes and their families.

According to the foundation’s website, “we serve our nation by honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need. We do this by creating and supporting unique programs designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communities.”

It was in 2017 that the foundation began the Snowball Express program — a program that aims to take the children of the heroes to Disneyland.

A family needs a lot of help and support when a loved one does not come home… And Sinise is very passionate about this and wants to do anything he can to help, even just a little.

“While we can never do enough to show gratitude to our nation’s defenders, we can always do a little more,” said Sinise.

1,750 children got a free, five-night trip to Disney, all thanks to this foundation. And we all know that for young kids, a trip to Disney is pretty much the greatest, most magical experience of all time.

“The most important thing about [Snowball Express] is that these children don’t feel alone. There’s a lot of healing and a lot of bonding and a lot of friendship that goes on that helps them through the rest of the year,” Sinise told CBS Los Angeles.

While the kids were having the excellent time that they deserve, they also did not forget the reason why they were there in the first place: to honor their loved ones. To ensure this, the foundation makes sure that they provide enough flags for each trip so that they can put a flag out for every single soldier, veteran, first responder, and family.

In addition to these spirited trips, the foundation has also helped build 58 homes for wounded veterans and has served nearly 200,000 meals to the nation’s defenders.

Sinise is so clearly passionate about this important subject and we are so happy that instead of spending time on cars and vacations, this Hollywood actor is using his platform to change people’s lives!

Watch more in the video below.

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Source: Gary Sinise Foundation / Shareably