Students are invited to attend the Snowball Express “Walk of Gratitude” welcoming parade for the children and families of fallen soldiers next month. 

Snowball Express is a charity organization started in 2006 to help the children of fallen soldiers during the holiday season. 

The event took place in southern California for two years before coming to DFW in December 2009, where it has taken place for the past four years, according to Bob Wood, the Fort Worth day director. 

Wood said the parade will take place when the families and nearly 2,000 children first arrive. He said he hopes that students will take time out of their weekend to attend the parade or volunteer to support the children. 

“You see these kids and they go to Six Flags and we’ve been to South Fork and rodeos and all kinds of things, Cowboys Stadium, and they’re laughing and playing, and then you stop,” Wood said. “And you think, they’re having a lot of fun, but then you think about the price of admission because every one of them has lost a mom or dad in this war.” 

The TCU Student Veteran’s Organization will volunteer during the parade and throughout the day, according to secretary of the SVO LaQwen Nichols. Wood said members will be holding signs and directing families around the Fort Worth Stockyards. 

Nichols said the Snowball Express was an opportunity for the surviving families of soldiers to gather and share their experiences of loss.

“I hope to let the people know, you know the families and even the veterans that are going to be there, to let them know that they have support and that people do care,” Essie Craft, a war veteran and member of SVO, said.

Wood said that during their time here, the families will attend concerts, go to Six Flags in Arlington and participate in other activities across the metroplex. 

The parade begins at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 2 at the Fort Worth Stockyards. Wood encourages attendees to bring posters. Students who want to volunteer can sign up here.