It’s no surprise that Gary Sinise has become synonymous with helping America’s service members, whether they’re on active duty or recovering at home, and their families. Ever since taking on the role of Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump , Sinise has held the nation’s veterans and first responders close to his heart.
The Gary Sinise Foundation grew out of his attempts to give back to America’s service members and first responders, building specialized homes for disabled veterans and providing a variety of supports for veterans in need.
What began with gigs with the Lt. Dan Band grew into a pretty special organization that improves a lot of lives.
It would be difficult to break down all the good deeds Gary Sinise and his foundation have performed since it was formed in 2011.
Yes, the foundation has built 62 smart homes for severely wounded veterans, and yes, the foundation has funded 1,135 training grants for first responders, and so on, but charitable giving has a way of adding up to more than the sum of its parts.
There are always benefits that go beyond what you see and what the numbers say.
Maybe that’s why the Gary Sinise Foundation gathered a long, long list of people to thank Gary Sinise for all that he’s done.
Sinise’s co-workers at the foundation surprised him with a thank-you video and managed to record his reaction to it as well.
The outpouring of gratitude, put together at the behest of Gary Sinise Foundation CEO General Robin Rand, played out before him on a laptop as someone filmed it all.
The first person to show up to say thanks was Jay Leno, followed by the likes of Ron Howard, Maria Shriver, General Colin Powell, Tim Allen, Rob Lowe, Robert DeNiro, Steve Buscemi, Joe Mantegna, Mayim Bialik, Judd Apatow, Robin Roberts, and more.
And of course, Forrest Gump himself, Tom Hanks, had to say thanks as well.
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But as nice as it is to hear that feedback from famous faces, when less famous faces showed up, Sinise had a hard time keeping it together.
Of course, folks who the foundation had helped over the years, both the service members and first responders and their families, wanted to express their gratitude as well.
They’re all lives his work has touched, and even just a few seconds to say thanks meant something to them.
That so many people out there wanted to thank him, and that the foundation went to so much trouble to get it all on video, had Sinise “in shock.”
“That makes me feel really good,” he said, tearing up.
Watch the whole emotional video below!
