--- description: She even got one from the White House. title: 8-Year-Old Arson Victim Receives 1 Million Christmas Cards image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt982442733937c9ae/698876e0a988cac4f86b5e0b/safyre-terry1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Girl Who Lost Family in Fire Receives 1 Million Christmas Cards by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 25, 2015 5:11 PM CUT  Safyre Terry receives packages from Santa Claus in Rotterdam, N.Y., on Dec. 17, 2015. Safyre Terry receives packages from Santa Claus in Rotterdam, N.Y., on Dec. 17, 2015.Mike Groll—AP by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 25, 2015 5:11 PM CUT An 8-year-old New York girl has [received more than a million Christmas cards](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/12/24/little-girl-who-asked-for-christmas-cards-has-gotten-more-than-1-million-including-one-from-the-white-house/?tid=sm%5Ftw "undefined") after her aunt’s Facebook post went viral. Safyre Terry was badly burned in an arson attack that took the lives of her father, sister and two brothers in 2013\. Her aunt Liz Dodler posted of Facebook in early December [asking if anyone wanted to send Safyre cards](http://time.com/4146804/burn-victim-christmas-cards/ "undefined")—and her request caught on. The Associated Press reports that Safyre has received more than a million Christmas cards from well wishers—including the Obamas. “Safyre had the honor of getting a card from the President, First Lady and family,” Dodler wrote in an update on the [Safyre Schenectady’s Super Survivor Facebook pag](https://www.facebook.com/Schenectadyssupersurvivor/ "undefined")e. “THANK YOU Mr. President and First Lady.” In the Christmas spirit, the family has decided to donate some of the cards, dolls and art supplies that Safyre has received to those in need throughout the Albany, N.Y. area and to a Boston hospital where Safyre receives treatment. Safyre will be keeping at least one present though—a 3-D printed hand, which the Washington _Post_ reports students spent months creating for her. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4161484/safyre-terry-christmas-cards-obamas/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4161484/safyre-terry-christmas-cards-obamas/"},"headline":"Girl Who Lost Family in Fire Receives 1 Million Christmas Cards","datePublished":"2015-12-25T17:11:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:38:16.675Z","description":"She even got one from the White House","url":"https://time.com/4161484/safyre-terry-christmas-cards-obamas/","keywords":["christmas","People"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt982442733937c9ae/698876e0a988cac4f86b5e0b/safyre-terry1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt982442733937c9ae/698876e0a988cac4f86b5e0b/safyre-terry1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2015, file photo, Safyre Terry receives packages from Santa Claus in Rotterdam, N.Y. Terry, who lost her father and siblings in an arson fire that left her severely scarred is sharing the good cheer bestowed on her by the truckloa","caption":"FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2015, file photo, Safyre Terry receives packages from Santa Claus in Rotterdam, N.Y. Terry, who lost her father and siblings in an arson fire that left her severely scarred is sharing the good cheer bestowed on her by the truckloa","creditText":"Mike Groll—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4161484/safyre-terry-christmas-cards-obamas/","name":"Girl Who Lost Family in Fire Receives 1 Million Christmas Cards"}}]}] ```