Seeds of service were planted in Gary Sinise’s life as early as the 1980s, the actor says, with his full-time mission becoming clearer after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
“The 80s and 90s were really setting the stage for something much greater that would happen after Sept. 11, 2001,” Sinise said. “The profound change that happened there with me … it was really a turning point towards a full-on active engagement with service work.”
Today that service work is through a foundation bearing his own name. The Gary Sinise Foundation offers programs designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communities, according to its website. The Snowball Express, as an example, provides healing experiences to families of the fallen — including a five-day trip to Walt Disney World® Resort for Gold Star children.
Founded in 2011, the foundation has distributed more than 1 million meals to service members across the U.S. and overseas; 92 specially adapted smart homes for wounded veterans; 76 mobility devices; 15,992 pieces of essential equipment for first responders; free concerts featuring The Lt. Dan Band; and more.
Sinise said he initially learned more about the lives of those who serve through stories of Vietnam veterans in his family, but it was his role as Lt. Dan that took his understanding even deeper. After “Forrest Gump” debuted in 1994, he connected with Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and its membership of wounded veterans. He is still active with the group 30 years later.
After 9/11, Sinise volunteered with the USO and visited troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Conversations started reflecting the national tone during Vietnam, he says, with things getting more and more difficult for those deployed to Iraq.
“There were divisions in our country over if we should be in Iraq or not; the media portraying everything falling apart all the time. I did not want our troops who were serving there to fall into the same thing that our Vietnam veterans did,” Sinise said. “They [Vietnam veterans] came home from war, and they weren’t treated very well. I was just sensing that something not right was happening with regards to the service members.”
Sinise said the more tension grew, the more involved he got. He visited war zones, hospitals, and began volunteering with nonprofit organizations. His trips to Iraq showed a complete opposite portrayal than what was being displayed on the news, he added, with Iraqi children embracing American soldiers.
“It all manifested itself into what would be my next play, and it was to start my own foundation.”
Since its founding, the Gary Sinise Foundation “has raised hundreds of millions of dollars and been deployed all over the place where our defenders are in need and need support,” Sinise shared.
A full listing of programs and ways to get involved can be found online at Gary Sinise Foundation.
