FAQs About USPS Operation Santa® Program

We do not accept donated toys, but any Goodwill will welcome them. Goodwill will separate the acceptable toys and the ones that are too old or damaged, and make them available to needy families. Try this search on Google: “donate toys to kids”.

Not the best idea. Sometimes people feel degraded when they open a gift and find torn or stained old clothes, or a damaged toy. We recommend sending only new gifts; it’s more dignified. To find a home for your toys, you might donate them to Goodwill or offer them to another family you know in your neighborhood with younger kids than yours.

Please see our Locations page to find a branch near you that accepts the barcoded labels.

Please see our suggested Other Ways to Be an Elf. Barcoded shipping labels may only be scanned in US Post offices.

Santa does have a street address! Here t’is: Santa Claus 123 Elf Road North Pole 88888 And yes, you may write on behalf of your kids. For tips to write a letter that volunteers are more likely to respond to, see our Seeking Gifts? page. It’s awesome, and the bottom half of Seeking Gifts? offers our plan to create and market your own powerful campaign on GoFundMe.com. Don’t go there yet! First read our detailed plan and follow the step-by-step instructions!

In the past volunteers have passed letters along to specialist doctors who took care of a child’s medical needs “pro-bono” (for free). There is no harm in asking! It will depend entirely on the letter that you or your children write, photos you enclose that tell the story, and whether the volunteer is moved by your letter and forwards it along to a doctor they know. You can also write directly to doctors yourself. There is more about this on our Seeking Gifts? page. Again, the bottom half of that page offers Be An Elf’s step-by-step plan to create and market your own powerful campaign on GoFundMe.com.

Sadly there is no way we know of to contact your volunteer, unless they put their return address inside the package. They are not supposed to do that, though. You may find comfort knowing that for most volunteers, there is greater joy in giving than receiving. What they receive is impossible to put a price on.

There’s also joy to be had when you Donate Online to Be An Elf. The more donations we receive every year, the more gifts we send to children in need, and gifts to our tax-exempt, 501c3 group are tax-deductible. 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.

For our mailing address, please see our Donate by check page.

We wish you a holiday season filled with love, health, and prosperity for you and your family. We honor you for making a difference in a child’s life, whether your own or someone you never met. Thanks for Being an Elf! Elf Patrick BeAnElf.org