05 Jan Snowball Express brightened the holiday season for families of fallen heroes

Last month, American Airlines partnered with the Gary Sinise Foundation for the annual Snowball Express event that honors those who have lost a loved one while serving in our nation’s military. This year for the first time, the event was held over the course of two weeks, expanding the participants to include families of fallen first responders. American donated charter aircraft and tickets on already-scheduled flights to fly almost 3,000 participants from all over the world to Orlando, Florida, where they enjoyed an all-expenses-paid experience at Walt Disney World Resort.

More than a thousand American Airlines team members donated their time to make Snowball Express a meaningful experience for the families of fallen heroes. Every year since 2006, team members have volunteered to serve the families in the air or coordinate gate-side sendoff ceremonies in airports throughout the system. Volunteering for Snowball Express came full circle this year for Dani Fernandez, who works in IT at American, after having participated in Snowball Express as a child 11 years ago.