A Philadelphia fifth grader took her fight against bullying to the Oval Office, and thanks to that, she is getting some help.
Zina Stokes said her daughter would ask her, "'Did I get any mail? Did I get any mail?' And her sisters would say, 'He not writing you back. He got other thing to do."
It is safe to say the Commander in Chief is a busy man, but that didn't stop 11-year-old Ziainey Stokes from trying. In January, she poured her heart out in a letter to the President - with every hope he would write back.
Ziainey explains, "In the letter I wrote about the kids who bullied me at my old school and the kids who get bullied when they don't do nothing. And how they look and how they act is a problem."
Ziainey had been getting bullied at her former school, Belmont Charter, practically every day - going through what many kids have gone through.
"She took my lunch, she took my sandwich - my good sandwich that my mom would make me. My fruit cup, my juices and she'd take my hot Cheetos!"
She soon realized other kids across the country were getting it worse than she was. Ziainey's breaking point was when she read about a teenage girl who had killed herself after being bullied.
On Friday March 10th, the response the 5th grader had been waiting for finally arrived.
Zina tells us, "She dropped her book bag and said, 'Yes! He wrote me! He wrote me!'"
Ziainey read us some of what the President had to say:
"Thank you for writing your letter. I have heard from many students about the challenges they face, and I am glad you wrote to share your story."
A letter signed by the President of the United States, addressing the issue directly.
"I was more grateful that he took time out and sent this letter back," said Zina.
"It don't matter if you in public school, private school, we all get bullied at some point in our life," said Ziainey. "And it's time to speak up about why you're getting bullied."
She's hoping all this attention will help bring about change.
