Overview
- More than 1,600 relatives of fallen U.S. service members gathered from over 90 cities, including participants traveling from Europe and Guam, for this year’s event at Walt Disney World.
- The Walk of Gratitude took place at daybreak on December 9 as families moved down Main Street, U.S.A. to Cinderella Castle, where they placed letters to their fallen loved ones in a ceremonial cauldron.
- Nearly 1,000 Disney VoluntEARS lined the route before dawn to honor the families, with Gary Sinise participating in the ceremony and offering remarks of support.
- Organizers scheduled a second Snowball Express in mid-December at the resort for families of fallen first responders.
- Disney reports that more than 23,000 children and surviving parents or guardians have taken part in Snowball Express at Walt Disney World since 2018, a program rooted in a 2003 letter from U.S. Army Pfc. Jesse Givens and later expanded under the Gary Sinise Foundation.