Obama responds to Christmas request for 'safety'
A Chicago teenager who sent a letter to Santa Claus requesting more safety in his neighborhood received a reply from someone closer to home: President Obama.
"I want to offer you a few words of encouragement this holiday season," Obama wrote to 13-year-old Malik Bryant. "Each day I strive to ensure communities like yours are safe places to dream, discover, and grow."
Writing in to a local "letters to Santa" campaign, Malik had said: "All I ask for is for safety. ... I just wanna be safe."
The plea found its way to the White House, and Malik read the president's response in a video posted by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Obama, who owns a home in Chicago, wrote:
"Please know your security is a priority for me in everything I do as President. If you dare to be bold and creative, work hard every day, and care for others, I'm confident you can achieve anything you can imagine. I wish you and your family the very best in the coming year, and I will be rooting for you.
"Sincerely, Barack Obama."
"According to NBC Chicago, the Chicago-based Direct Effect Charities has been running a local 'Letters to Santa' program for more than a decade and receives about 8,000 letters annually. A DEC spokeswoman told NBC Chicago she forwarded Malik's letter to Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley, whose staff contacted Obama's office.
"Asked for his reaction to the president's letter, Malik said, 'I'm surprised that he wrote it to me. I didn't expect my letter to go to the White House, but I think it sent a message to everybody that it's not safe out here in Chicago. It's dangerous.'"