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Gary Sinise Celebrates Foundation’s 10-Year Anniversary by Giving Veterans Mortgage-Free Homes

Photo from Gary Sinise’s Instagram

Gary Sinise Celebrates Foundation’s 10-Year Anniversary by Giving Veterans Mortgage-Free Homes

By Movieguide® Staff

Actor Gary Sinise recently celebrated Veterans Day and the 10-year anniversary of his foundation, The Gary Sinise Foundation, which seeks to aid veterans and first responders.

In a recent interview with Fox News, Sinise spoke about his foundation and the motivation behind helping wounded veterans and building “Smart Homes” through the R.I.S.E. program.

“I guess the early seeds for what I’m doing now with regards to helping our veterans and first responders go way, way back into the 80s,” Sinise said. “I started working with Vietnam veterans. I have Vietnam veterans in my family, then 10 years later played the Vietnam veteran in FORREST GUMP, Lieutenant Dan and as he was a disabled veteran, a wounded veteran. I was contacted by the D.A.V., Disabled American Veterans Organization, and they invited me to their national convention.”

Sinise said that the convention, where he met many wounded veterans, and the events of 9/11 spurred him on to create the Gary Sinise Foundation.

Recently, Sinise’s foundation built their 75th home for Jason Urbanski and his wife, Courtney.

“We celebrated our 10 year anniversary on June 30 of this year, and over the years, we built many of these homes. We have multiple programs and it’s been a privilege to be able to support the men and women who serve our country. Today’s Veterans Day Of course, but every day is Veterans Day for the Gary Sinise Foundation.”

Sinise shared Urbanski’s injury, which left him paralyzed and in a wheelchair.

“We want to try to take care of everybody, no matter if they’re hurt in combat. No matter if they’re hurt in training accidents, if they’re ill, whatever,” he explained. “If they’re struggling, we want to be there for them and Jason was brought to our attention and he’s much deserving, he’s in a wheelchair and deserving of this home.

“They are both special people and we’re privileged to be able to provide the home for them with the support of just so many kind sponsors who come into our R.I.S.E. program,” he continued. “R.I.S.E. means Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment, and we have just dozens of great, kind sponsors who provide flooring and roofs and smart technology and tile and you name it; a lot of people come on board to help the Gary Sinise Foundation to help our servicemembers.”

Sinise noted the unique challenges that wounded veterans face daily.

“Life can be very, very challenging for somebody in a wheelchair, somebody missing a limb, somebody with severe burns or traumatic brain injury, or blindness or whatever their particular challenges are. It can be very, very difficult just trying to function in an apartment or a small house that’s not built for somebody with physical challenges like that,” he explained. “So what we try to do is provide everything that you could possibly think of that would help to make the life of the veteran and the family be more independent; to have the service member be more independent.”

He added: “And we have a wonderful team of builders. We formed a team of builders years ago and we’ve been able to pay them to come and support this project. So they have done this multiple times and they know all the scenarios. They’ve been through so many different things with so many veterans that they can really reflect each individual veteran into that home so that it becomes kind of their forever home, a place where they are going to be independent and free and strong in their mortgage-free houses. So we take the stress off.”

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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.