Nashville, Tenn. - November 28, 2022: The Gary Sinise Foundation (GSF), which was established more than 10 years ago under the philanthropic direction of award-winning actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise, is the recipient of a generous $2 million gift from the David and Sherry Cordani Family Foundation. This four-year commitment to GSF contributes to the Family Foundation’s goal of making donations that create real-world lasting impacts and are in line with the family’s commitments to supporting community health and overall well-being.
The Cordani Family Foundation donation will benefit GSF’s Snowball Express Program, which supports thousands of families of our fallen heroes year-round through empowerment workshops and regional community events. The culmination of the program is a five-day experience at Disney World, where family members can spend time together, honoring their fallen while making special memories together in a warm and welcoming environment.
“Every day, our men and women in uniform, whether first responders or our military, put themselves on the front line to protect and help our communities and our country, and their families sacrifice with them,” said David Cordani. “While we can never do enough to give back to others who have given so much, we are honored to partner with the Gary Sinise Foundation to support expansion of the provision of needed services for these brave heroes and their families.”
The donation will also be used to support programming and activities through the Boulder Crest Foundation, a partner of the Gary Sinise Foundation’s Mental Wellness initiative, to support veterans and first responders experiencing post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injuries and to help heal other invisible wounds.
“Too many of our veterans and first responders struggle in silence, battling invisible wounds, not wanting to burden others with their challenges. I believe, as citizens who benefit from the freedom they sacrifice to provide, we can all do a little more to support these heroes and their families, letting them know they are not alone on their journey and reminding them that there are many grateful Americans out there who love and appreciate them. At the Gary Sinise Foundation, we reach out with a helping hand – offering light in their darkest times. And we continue to do more and more through the support of the public and great folks like David and Sherry Cordani,” said Actor and Humanitarian Gary Sinise.
“The Cordani Family Foundation gift is a shining example of what it means to, as Gary would say, “do a little more” to support our veterans, heroes, defenders and first responders, and we are so grateful for this incredible new partnership to support even more of our heroes and their families in need. Together through our aligned objectives, we can truly transform the lives of these heroes,” said Donna Palmer, Executive Director of the Gary Sinise Foundation.
Since its founding, GSF programming has resulted in donations of more than 12,000 pieces of essential equipment to law enforcement and first responders, dedicated 80 mortgage-free smart homes to our nation’s most severely wounded heroes, hosted thousands of uplifting events and served meals to more than 800,000 of our nation’s defenders across the United States.
For more information on the Gary Sinise Foundation (GSF) and its programs that serve and support veterans, active-duty heroes, first responders and their families who sacrifice alongside them, please visit www.garysinisefoundation.org.
About The Gary Sinise Foundation
The Gary Sinise Foundation was established under the philanthropic direction of award-winning actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise, who has been an advocate of our nation's defenders for nearly 40 years. The Gary Sinise Foundation's mission is to serve our country by honoring our military service men and women, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need. The Foundation's four programmatic pillars provide for those who sacrifice so much for our country - R.I.S.E. (Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment) Program, Relief and Resiliency Program, Community and Education Program, the First Responders Outreach Program. As the Founder, Gary Sinise always says, "While we can never do enough for our nation’s defenders and their loved ones who sacrifice alongside them, we can always do a little more." That spirit of service is the bedrock of all the Foundation's programs. For more information, please visit GarySiniseFoundation.org.