LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – More than 350 families of fallen first responders are taking part in a healing retreat at Walt Disney World Resort.
The gathering was part of the Gary Sinise Foundation’s annual Snowball Express event, which has been held since 2018 for families of fallen U.S. military heroes.
The expansion to a second week focused on first responders and was one of the largest gatherings of the community to date, organizers said.
Our first responders keep us safe and protect us in our homes and we owe them,” GSF Senior Vice President Jim Ravella said. “This nation owes them a debt of gratitude.”
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On Tuesday, the families participated in a Walk of Gratitude at the Magic Kingdom theme park.
“That is a time when there’s a lot of fun. We’re here to make new memories for them at this time of year, the holiday season,” Ravella said.
During the sunrise walk, families wrote personal messages to their fallen hero on a scroll, and then the children of fallen first responders rang bells to send those messages up to the parent(s) they lost.
Ravella’s wife took part in Snow Ball Express in 2007 after her husband, Major Troy Gilbert, died in combat in 2006.
“Troy made the ultimate sacrifice, but the families, they don’t raise their hands but they serve,” Ravella said. They’re serving now. These families that all lost someone, they’re paying the price.”
Like those military families, the families of first responders received support from each other and built bonds together while they honored those lost.
“That’s why the connections are such a big part of Snowball, because that’s what gives them the strength,” Ravella said. “We can’t change what happened, but we can change the way they look at the future and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
For details about programs with the Gary Sinise Foundation, visit the group’s website.
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