Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    The Lookout

    Struggling single mom sells Obama letter

    Destiny Mathis, a young woman in Indiana, reached out to President Obama for a sign of hope in tough economic times, and was initially thrilled to receive a handwritten reply from the president. Now, however, the same economic hardships that prompted her to write to Obama last November have prompted her to put up the letter for sale on an auction website--marking the ninth such sale of an Obama letter that the online auction service has handled.

    Mathis, a single mother of three from Indiana, wrote to the president that even though she graduated at the top of her college class and worked for years as a surgical technologist, she had lost her job in January after complications with her pregnancy. "I am so afraid this dreaded economy is going to have my family homeless," she wrote, according to NBC5, the Chicago network affiliate. Mathis is now weeks away from being evicted from her home.

    The president wrote back a handwritten note on White House stationery. "Please know that things will get better for you and your family," he said. You can watch the NBC5 report on the letter's sale above.

    The 26-year-old is now selling the note to Gary Zimet, who has sold eight other letters from the president so far for up to $20,000 on his site, Moments in Time. He's asking for $11,000.

    A Michigan woman sold a letter from Obama in October for $7,000 to help pay for her cancer treatment and for a downpayment on a house. "Thanks for the very kind and inspiring letter," Obama wrote to Jennifer Cline, after she told him in a letter that she was struggling to make ends meet and had lost her health insurance. "I know times are tough, but knowing there are folks out there like you and your husband gives me confidence that things will keep getting better!"

    Other popular Yahoo! News stories:

    • Facebook hires former Clinton White House press secretary
    • Georgia gov to farmers: Hire people on parole
    • Gingrich says he feels 'liberated' by campaign implosion

     

    6,743 comments

    • Katie  •  11 mths ago
      does anyone else see the irony in this?
      • Jen 11 mths ago
        Absolutely!!!
      • A Yahoo! User 11 mths ago
        2 bucks for a letter from a failure = OVERPRICED
      • Toni 11 mths ago
        That was EXACTLY what I was thinking Katie.
    • Mikey Sags  •  11 mths ago
      The "African" American thing needs to be dropped. Unless you were born in Africa and have dual citizenship in the United States, you're not an African American. I don't consider myself an Italian American just because I had Italian immigrants come over generations ago.
    • R Snyd  •  11 mths ago
      If she lost her job due to "complications with her pregnancy"...why is she blaming the "dreaded economy" for possibly making her family homeless?

      This story is ridiculous. She's getting national publicity - probably what she wanted - not to mention Obama will most likely write her another letter feeling sorry for her.

      She has a college degree and graduated at the top of her class...there are some people who don't even have that. This woman is ridiculous.
      • Rabbi Shlomo Weinerstein 11 mths ago
        so, where is her husband to help her out? lol
      • John 11 mths ago
        b/c she is black and has the "gibs me dat" attitude.
      • Evelyn 11 mths ago
        The bad economy makes it harder to find a job. She wasn't asking for a hand out. She has done nothing wrong. And if she wants to be a single mom, that's her right.
    • EricM  •  11 mths ago
      Doesnt the family medical leave act protect people with difficult pregnancies?
      • marc 11 mths ago
        yes it does. there has to be more to this story then she is saying.
      • DougD 11 mths ago
        Yes, but it doesn't pay the bills.
      • Post 11 mths ago
        Marc your exaqctly right
    • Tommy  •  11 mths ago
      If you are not a racist, if you are for racial equality give a big thumb's up for White History Month!
      • GRIM REAPER 11 mths ago
        almost every month is White History Month,and it's been that way for a long time, well before any Black History Month, or Hispanic Month and anyother history month you say is out there
      • BLVD 11 mths ago
        I think we learn enough about "White History" in school every day! ! !
      • Brandon 11 mths ago
        SPONSERED BY WONDER BREAD & MIRICLE WHIP!!! GO WHITEY!!
    • bill  •  11 mths ago
      He even makes a handwritten letter a lie
    • Brandi  •  11 mths ago
      Some of you guys are idiots. Always quick to bash someone. You don't know her story, you don't know why she is single, you don't know if they are all from the same dad or different ones, you don't know anything about this woman. Stop being so negative towards someone you don't even know a damn thing about. Karma is a %#@# Remember that
    • Shawn Howard  •  11 mths ago
      im happy for her and that she didnt give up like most people would and that she is going to pay her bills and help them kids becaues there dad isnt there and im done with all the hate talks with there white power %#@# if there were white with seven kids they would get a tv show and everything giving to them
    • Milk Steak Pie  •  11 mths ago
      Because of this article the President will now receive 100 times more mail than usual and every person will expect a reply letter so they can cash in on the opportunity. Well done, Yahoo!
    • monn  •  11 mths ago
      Mercy on Her Bad Time!
    • J Y  •  11 mths ago
      Some of the comments on this are silly. I am glad the woman was able to sell the letter to help her family. The problem she has can happen to anyone. For someone to say she should not have had another kid because she could not afford it obviously has not read the story.
      The woman had a great paying job, but because of complications of the pregnancy, she lost it, and she lost her insurance.
      This does not make her a bad person. She has kids, and she is single, yes. Despite that, she has a degree. She WAS doing well, and lost it due to un-foreseen circumstances. Why put the woman down when she is already down?
      I get it, give someone any angle, and they will take a stab. I am happy that she was able to sell that letter.
    • Al  •  11 mths ago
      Here's an idea for yet another round of stimulus - Obama can send handwritten notes to all downtrodden people in the US. They can all sell these notes for several thousand dollars a piece!
    • Tiana Rose  •  11 mths ago
      She is Pregnant Again?!?!?!?! Whaaaa girl stop what you thinking Obama shoulda sent you some Birth Control Instruction or a Free Doctors Visit to get you tubes tied.....She has some big balls writing my president bout that bull! And look now shes paid...SMH whats the world coming to
    • Truthbetold  •  11 mths ago
      Well she did finish college, how about you?
    • A Yahoo! User  •  11 mths ago
      Poor thing---another victim of hate crimes.
    • sony  •  11 mths ago
      and she is pregnant again?! Seriously, don't have more kids if you can't afford it.
    • g9rocks64  •  11 mths ago
      A bunch of comments are "where's the daddy?" I can tell you from experience that this is a stupid question. My ex-husband quit his $50K per year job to avoid paying child support. He was over $150K in arrears when he passed away.
    • Krissy  •  11 mths ago
      no people are poor because of racisim, and the rich keeping all the goods to them selfs
    • OUTOFNOWHERE  •  11 mths ago
      THA WORLD WE LIVE IN...
    • chris  •  11 mths ago
      They are going to have to claim that on their income tax return.......
    [ [ [['A picture is worth a thousand words', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/why-facebook-bought-instagram-4-theories-160400376.html', '[Related: Why Facebook bought Instagram: 4 theories]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 9]], 'http://contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoonews_virginiabeach', '[Did you witness the jet crash? Share your story with Yahoo! News]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Dick Clark', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dick-clark-dies-at-82-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/21/c217c61aa2d5872244c08caa13c16ec5.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
    [ [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

    About The Lookout

    The Lookout is the Yahoo! News national affairs blog focusing on America’s most important and interesting stories.

    Subscribe

    [X]

    How to subscribe

    Roll over each section to subscribe using Add to My Yahoo! or RSS Feed feeds.

    Yahoo! News offers dozens of RSS feeds you can read in My Yahoo! or using third-party RSS news reader software. Click here to find out more about RSS and how you can use it with Yahoo! News.

    Meet The Lookout Team

    The Upshot Network

    Edited by Dylan Stableford
    Edited by Eric Pfeiffer
    Edited by Olivier Knox
    Coast to coast, Remake America is celebrating moms. Meet six American families who're using your solutions to confront real challenges. Join the conversation.
    Wounded veteran Kyle lost his hand during an explosion in Iraq.
    Single mom Erin faces foreclosure.