Handwritten Obama Letter to Destiny Mathis
Destiny Mathis, from Hobart, Indiana, wrote to President Barack Obama in November last year about losing her job as a surgical technologist. To her surprise, in February Mathis received a handwritten letter from President in return. And now, 26 year old mother of three is selling the handwritten response to help her family.
Mathis is selling Obama’s note through Gary Zimet, president of Moments in Time, an online company that has sold eight such letters for between $10,000 and $20,000. Zimet said that handwritten letters from Obama on White House stationery are extremely rare and he hopes to sell Mathis’ letter for $11,000.
After graduating at the top of her class in 2005, Mathis was raising two children on her own while working as a surgical technician. She was also helping her mother, who was battling cancer at the time. In 2008, she worked hard to get Obama elected, getting Barack the Vote T-shirts made and encouraging people in her neighborhood to vote.
She told the Huffington Post: I wrote him just expressing my concern about what’s going to happen in the next two years. I know he’s under a lot of stress, but I need to see more results. She received a handwritten response from the President shortly after. You have such a positive spirit, he wrote. Please know that things will get better for you and your family.
Mathis write to the President: I do think people are coming down too hard on you and your administration. An eight-year mess cannot be fixed in only two years’ time. I am still behind you 100 per cent and so is my family. My dad is a disabled Vietnam Veteran and he tells my seven-year-old son, Silas, that he should strive to be just like you. I tell my two-year-old daughter Milan that she will be as strong as Mrs Obama and to not be like me. She finishes by saying: May God Bless you Mister President and your beautiful family. I also ask that GOD continues to bless your presidency and administration.
Mathis Family
Now, eight months later, things have not improved and she is being forced to sell the letter in the hope that she can avoid eviction. Selling the precious letter is the last thing she wants to do, but she felt she had no choice.
I am just a little bit weary of the promises that he’s made, Mathis said. I really haven’t been seeing any kind of changes that affect me directly. … We need the money so we can move into something that’s compatible with the kids and to help us out. We are really, really struggling. It’s hard for us right now. We need to move as soon as possible, she said. We need a three bedroom. I’m not working, so no one is giving me a chance.
