Gary Sinise has spent the past 40 years giving back to the military, their families, veterans, and first responders. He is the founder of the Snowball Express that gives to the children of fallen service members in remarkable ways.
In 2017, Snowball Express became an official Gary Sinise Foundation program. But this is just a small part of what the foundation truly does.
The foundation’s CEO decided to make a thank you video for Sinise and it left him wowed and speechless.
Video tribute to Gary Sinise. (GarySiniseFoundation/Youtube)
Words of thanks poured in from big names like General Colin Powell, Tom Hanks, Jay Leno, Robin Roberts, Ron Howard, Rob Lowe, Robert DeNiro, Maria Shriver, Tim Allen, Steve Buscemi, Joe Mantegna, Kristin Chenoweth, Richard Rawlings, Judd Apatow, Mayim Bialik, Sela Ward, Tim Allen, Aaron Eckhart, Iliza Shlesinger, Jeff Perry, Donal Logue and Kellie Pickler.
Watch the video tribute to Gary Sinese below:
Each individual that contributed to this video had a special and unique message for Sinise that let him know exactly how much the things that he does matters in so many lives. Sinise has never met — and may never meet — most of the people in the video, but he has touched or changed their lives in some way.
Jay Leno thanking Gary Sinise. (GarySiniseFoundation/Youtube)
Some of the military wanted to join in too. Medal of Honor recipients, Gold Star families, the USO, heroes from the military, first responders, and more showed their support and appreciation to Sinise for his commitment. Every branch of the military made a contribution of meaning and thankfulness. Disabled vets and their families also paid a thankful word.
Colin Powell thanking Gary Sinise. (GarySiniseFoundation/Youtube)
The surprise video was seen by Sinise at a charity event for the Gary Sinise Foundation, then posted online and on social media.
Sinise tweeted, “Completely shocked and speechless by this surprise video. Incredibly touched and grateful by everyone’s support. I’m crying, so choked up.”
Completely shocked and speechless by this surprise video. Incredibly touched and grateful by everyone’s support. I’m crying, so choked up, I thought I’d share. https://t.co/Q0j2C1hWLu via @YouTube
— Gary Sinise (@GarySinise) February 12, 2019
The Gary Sinise Foundation raises around $30 million annually for building improved smart homes for disabled veterans so they can enjoy a meaningful life, according to People.com. It also sends military families of the fallen to Disney World around the holidays.
Sinise said, “If every person in every neighborhood around the country took a little bit of responsibility for patting these folks on the back, all the problems that we hear about with regards to veterans not getting services or falling through the cracks would disappear. If citizens would look at their freedom providers in a little bit different way.”
