Colorado Mom Shocked To Hear Obama Quote Her E-Mail
DENVER (CBS4) - A group of students from Colorado headed to the nation's capital on Sunday, but not before a concerned parent's letter to President Barack Obama got them some surprise attention first.
Their trip to Washington is back on now that the government shutdown has been averted. Obama mentioned their situation in an email during his televised speech Friday night.
"A few days ago, I received a letter from a mother in Longmont, Colorado. Over the year, her son's eighth grade class saved up money and worked on projects so that next week they could take a class trip to Washington, DC," he said.
CBS4 caught up with the woman who wrote that very letter.
Shalini Schane is a take-action kind of mom. After sending letters to the Colorado Congressional delegation, she decided to send her short email straight to the top.
It was a letter she wasn't even sure would actually be read by anybody. She wrote it anyway.
Frustrated by the threat of a government shutdown, the mother of two wanted it clear that a lot of people, including 50 eighth graders, hung in the balance.
"This hit home for us and that's what I think I wanted them to know," she told CBS4.
Schane's 13-year-old son, Adam, has been planning for the school trip for the past nine months.
"I was mostly just worried about a lot of the monuments closing. They're a big part to the U.S.," he said.
It wasn't until the nation would learn that the government was staying open that she would hear just how very far that little e-mail went.
"Then he said the line, 'I received an email the other day,' and I still don't think it hit me until he said, 'from a mom in Longmont,'" she said.
President Obama continued, "The mother wrote that for the last few days the kids in her son's class have been worried and upset that they might have to cancel their trip because of the shutdown."
He even quoted a part of the email directly: "Remember, the future of this country is not for us. It's for our children."
Although Schane had been alerted in a call from a White House staffer that her email might be used in the speech, Schane was nonetheless stunned.
"I was like, 'Oh my – that's me, that's me! He's talking about me!'" she said.
Hugh Belvin is one of the coordinators at Altona Middle School.
"To have him read it and have him mention Longmont Colorado and what these children have done to get to Washington, DC, we're just still on cloud nine," he said.
So Adam's bags are packed and he's ready for the trip, although he and his classmates may have already learned the most important lesson.
"It is worth it to voice your opinion," Shalini said.
And sometimes all it takes is one simple little letter.
Shalini will be joining along in the trip as well as a chaperone, and after all the attention, it turns out another good fortune will be coming from email: the group of students will get a tour of the White House while they're there.
The group left for the trip on Sunday. In addition to their White House tour, four of the students have been selected to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
RELATED STORY: Obama Surprises Colorado Students In Washington
