Kids Use Words to Win Obama's Attention

March 17, 2009— -- During President Obama's first 100 days, he has sought advice from cabinet members, senior officials and numerous aides, but this week the president will get a sackful of unsolicited advice.

"I should warn you. Being president is a big responsibility," 11-year-old Danny of Illinois cautioned the president in a letter. "All of the American citizens, even me, are in your hand. Don't be stressed out though, there are some positive sides to being president. I hear it has its own bowling alley. Reporters are worse than animals. Some reporters might even camp near the White House. Okay, I didn't mean to freak you out, but that's just the truth."

Thousands of American children like Danny will be offering their guidance to the president on Wednesday when 34,000 handwritten letters from students across the United States will be delivered to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

The handwritten notes range from suggestions for changing the color of the White House to offering one's family dog to the Obamas. The letters also include poignant personal notes about relatives in Iraq, experiences with hard economic times and the need for quality health care.

"My voice works differently because I have autism, but I cheered for you in my own way," wrote AnnaClaire from Texas. "For the primaries and then every Tuesday I wore a Barack Obama t-shirt. Please take care of people with autism."

Local educators and students will present the letters during a Capitol Hill ceremony on Wednesday morning. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., will accept the notes on behalf of the president and deliver the letters to the White House.

"We wanted to encourage children and students to participate in civil activities and current events," said the congressman. "No better way than to help them as they try and deliver their letters to the president at this historic time."

Handwriting Without Tears, a publishing company that develops educational handwriting curricula for children, is behind this initiative called "Mail to the Chief," which asked kids to write letters of advice to the new president, requiring only that the notes were handwritten.

The Handwriting Without Tears developer called the response from children "overwhelming."

"We have letters from every state in the union, from children living in other countries, letters written in Braille, we have letters that are just amazing to read, they're personal, they're passionate," said Olsen, who is also an occupational therapist. "Most come with a cover letter from the teacher or parent and you can tell two things -- the children used their very, very best handwriting and they wrote what they wanted the president to do."

In line with America's No. 1 concern, many of the children expressed trepidation about the current economic situation:

"Taxes are very high here in Alaska," wrote Reilly who is a fifth-grader from Alaska. "I'm not too stressed about that but I have friends that have trouble with taxes and sometimes it's hard for them to put food on the table."