How do I find a postal branch near me offering Operation Letters to Santa?

 

 

Please see our National Directory page to learn where this year’s Operation Santa postal branches are.

 

 

Not every postal branch offers the letters to Santa; in fact, in 2011, only 75 branches nationwide participated. The good news is that many of our largest cities had one branch that participated, giving access to many Americans.

What if there is no postal branch near me offering the program?

 

 

Please see our suggested Other Ways to Be an Elf. To start an Operation Santa branch in your city, please scroll down further!

What’s the address where can my child write to Santa?  Can parents write Santa, too?

 FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN REAL NEED ONLY!

To find out where to write to Santa, visit our National Directory page and click on the link in the center to locate the Operation Santa postal branch that’s nearest to you. Send your child’s letter to Santa Claus there; you should add the branch address underneath.

To avoid having one of your children receive all the gifts, instead of having each child write a separate letter to Santa, you might want to write to Santa as a family.

Another way to go is to have each of your children refer to their brothers and sisters, and to give Santa their ages and clothing sizes, too, in your letter.

Children who ask for X-boxes will not likely inspire volunteers to help Santa send those things. In your letter, write a few details about your family circumstances and situation; if Mom or Dad are out of work, let Santa know that. You might ask Santa for a warm sweatshirt or coat,  or new shoes, a warm blanket, a backpack for school, school supplies, books for your age, canned foods, or other basic needs.  Do not ask for Santa for cash, because Santa does NOT send cash, ever! He brings gifts.

What about a child’s medical needs? It’s possible that a volunteer might even pass your letter along to who a doctor will might take care of your child’s medical needs “pro bono” (for free). There is no harm in asking Santa! It will all depend on the letter that you or your children write, and whether the volunteer is moved by it and forwards your letter along to a doctor they know. You can also write directly to doctors yourself!

Do not send photocopies of the same Santa letter, as that looks like you are spamming Santa and will turn volunteer elves off. Santa does not like that!  Some families have done this, and we dont think those photocopied letters were ever answered. Just tell a few details about your situation, send one letter per child or parent, and all will be well. Remember that there are many more letters than there are volunteer elves to answer them.

Please do not send letters to Santa to our address; Santa will not get your letter here.  Be An Elf just let folks know where to send Santa letters and tells them how they can volunteer to be elves and help him out!

How do I start an Operation Santa postal branch in my city?

 

 

The USPS in Washington DC allows every postal branch manager to decide whether their post office will have an Operation Letters to Santa program.

 

 

However, before you go down to your local post office to lobby the manager to start an Operation Santa program next Christmas, there are several facts you should consider.

 

 

First, the holidays are the busiest time of year for any post office, and postal workers are already working overtime. It doesn’t help that the USPS has posted multi-billion dollar losses in recent years. Every branch manager knows that.

 

 

Second, many Operation Santa branches are extremely large mail processing facilities in major cities like Boston, New York, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia  and Los Angeles. Because of this, we believe a postal branch such as that is your best bet.

 

 

To find one, ask the manager of your local post office if they know which is the “main post office” in a large city near you. If they don’t know, ask another manager. Next, contact the manager of a main post office. If you can’t get through, ask for the Communications, or Public Relations officer. The very large stations usually have one. Talk to them about starting an Operation Santa program there next Christmas.

 

 

It’s not a simple process to undertake. Postal workers must first read and select children’s letters and letters from Moms; they must then cut out the return addresses and code them to a number; then they must write that number on a child’s letter, before it is put into the “Needy letters” or “Needy Moms” box.

 

 

Ask the branch manager if they would accept volunteers from the public to help with this process in December. However, it’s possible they have a policy of only allowing postal workers to see children’s letters while they still have the return home addresses on them.

 

 

Next, consider that an affluent city like Beverly Hills may not have so many needy letters to Santa! Postal branches in economically depressed areas are a more likely bet, although we don’t think anyone at the Post Office will discuss this openly. It might be possible for a post office in an affluent area to “import” Santa letters from a less affluent area. This is a question to discuss with the manager of the post office in your city.

 

 

Bear in mind that in 2010, there were only 24 branches in the entire USA that offered it. In part because of Be An Elf’s efforts, that number tripled to 75 postal branches in 2011. And that number could greatly increase with pro-active, motivated volunteers like yourself, one at a time.

 

 

Enlist the support of your friends, and form a committee to work on it together. When you succeed, get the newly participating branch’s Communications officer to send out a news release announcing it to your local media, or send out your own press release. You may rewrite our news release to be local to your city if you wish. See our Press Release link on the main menu for our news release — and please give us a mention in your release, as we are the best source on the web for information about Operation Santa, and we make the participating branches easy to find.

 

Lastly, if you do persuade the manager of the main post office near you to offer the program, please make sure they let the USPS Communications team in Washington DC know about it. Ask them to include the newly participating branch in their national directory of Operation Santa Post Offices, so that everyone in your city can easily find it next Christmas season.

 

 

 

Donate to Be An Elf

 

 

Another good way to help out is to Donate Online to Be An Elf. You may give anonymously online if you wish.

Your gift will help us further our mission, expand our outreach and help us continue building an army of volunteer elves. Together we’ll put smiles on the faces of more needy children on Christmas morning.

Gifts to our tax exempt 501c3 group are tax-deductible.  If you prefer to give by check, see below.

Give by check

 

 

If you prefer donate by check, please see Giving By Check.   You may also Donate Online – anonymously if you wish.   Our thanks for your generous gift!

We wish you a holiday season filled with love, and sincerely hope the year ahead will be bright and happy for you and your family.   We honor you and thank you for caring.

You can make a difference in a child’s life.   Thanks for being an Elf!