Featured Image Credit: theobamadiary.com
By Eva Gruber
Audrey Kim of Irvine, California, has a very special place in her heart for marine life. Only six years old, she fell in love with the ocean from reading a collection of books about marine life. One of her books discussed oil spills and their impact on the health of the oceans, and it impacted the young girl deeply. She was so concerned about oil spills that she asked her mom Krystyna Kim if she could write a note to the President about it.
“I said Dear President Obama, I am scared and nervous about oil spills.” Audrey said in an interview with ABC7 News. Her mother helped her craft a letter and send it off, addressed to the President of the United States.
Months passed, and Audrey kept asking her mother when the President would write back. Her mother, certain that the letter probably never even ended up on Obama’s desk, kept trying to reassure her daughter. “He’s very busy with the schedule and with saving the world,” Krystyna told her young daughter with a smile. She didn’t want to keep stringing her along but didn’t have the heart to tell her what she thought.
Then one day last month, a letter arrived addressed from the White House. It was a thick package containing photos of the President and his family, and even their pets. And of course, a personal letter from President Obama.
Part of the letter reads, “Thank you for writing, Audrey. Hearing from engaged young people like you gives me hope for the future.” Audrey is still learning to read and write, and so her parents helped her to read the letter from the President.
Reinvigorated and excited, young Audrey was inspired to do something more for the ocean. After visiting the Pacific Marine Mammal Center which is just down the street from her elementary school, she decided to start a fundraising page for the Center. Seeing all the sick, starved, and orphaned marine mammals showed her the suffering of the ocean made incarnate.
Her goal is to raise $1,000 and you can help Audrey out, even with a few dollars. The Pacific Marine Mammal Center is one of the best rehabilitation centers in the USA for marine mammals.
If you’d also like to provide more charity for the holidays, the Center has a wish list of items that they use and need.
We can all play a role in helping heal our oceans, and young, inspired people just like Audrey show us that it only takes passion and devotion to make a big impact.