Contact: Patrick Reynolds, Be An Elf
1.310.880.1111 For media only
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— News Release —
Public can adopt real letters to Santa written by needy children at select post offices
The US Postal Service ® is distributing low income children’s letters to Santa in 15 major cities this Christmas season. BeAnElf.org is an excellent resource for the public to learn where and how to participate in the USPS® Operation Santa program.
LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK CITY – November 30, 2017 – The USPS will kick off its Operation Santa program tomorrow, December 1 at 11 a.m. in New York City and Tuesday, December 5 at 11 a.m. in Los Angeles. Operation Santa allows the public to adopt letters to Santa written by low income children. Media are invited to attend.
Christmas volunteers may adopt a child’s letter to Santa and mail gifts directly to the child who wrote him. The Postal Service is offering the letters in 15 major cities this year for the first two to three weeks of December. BeAnElf.org is an excellent online guide to Operation Santa. It tells where and when to adopt letters at all participating USPS branches, complete with days and hours of operation, tips for volunteering and more.
Children writing to Santa sometimes include on their lists requests for “a warm coat”, “new shoes,” or “food, because we don’t have a lot of money.” Volunteers from the public select the saddest letters, and later mail their gifts directly to the child or family who needs a brighter Christmas.
The US Postal Service has made the children’s letters available every December since 1912. This year the letters to Santa may be picked up at a single postal branch in each of the following 15 cities: Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Orlando, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Santa Clarita, CA, Santa Ana, CA and Syracuse, IN. Each branch sets its own schedule for the program, so the days and hours vary.
BeAnElf.org is a tax-exempt charity and website founded by Patrick Reynolds in 2004 to create public awareness of the USPS Operation Santa program, to provide an online guide to it, and to make the participating branches easy for the public to find. Mr. Reynolds is a grandson of tobacco company founder RJ Reynolds, but received an award from the White House for his work against Big Tobacco. While not affiliated with the USPS program, Be An Elf recruits hundreds of new volunteers for it every year, and offers alternative ways to volunteer when there is no Operation Santa postal branch nearby.
“Some Operation Santa volunteers feel alone and sad over the holidays, and find comfort and inspiration volunteering for this program. Others have families and bring their older kids to teach them the meaning of Christmas,” says Patrick Reynolds, Chief Elf at Be An Elf.
BeAnElf.org suggests gifts like backpacks, school supplies, new clothes, books, and a small gift for the mothers, whom the site says are sometimes living below the poverty line, and feeling sad over the holidays. The site notes that some moms also write to Santa, listing their children’s clothing and shoe sizes. One tip is to adopt a few additional letters, and simply mail gift cards from Target or Costco, and let the Moms do the shopping for their families.
BeAnElf.org also recommends giving a holiday party at which friends are asked to bring gifts for kids, and sharing gift wrapping in a small gathering. Reading letters and shopping together can be fun, too. Companies may adopt multiple letters to Santa, and distribute them to interested employees.
Mr. Reynolds’ bio is at www.Anti-smoking.org/bio/ Links to his past television interviews concerning Be An Elf are at the very bottom of this page. ( http://BeAnElf.org/press-room/ )
A partial list of participating Operation Santa branches may be found below. For the complete list, please visit: http://www.BeAnElf.org/locations/
A selection of postal branches offering the program this year:
New York, NY
James A. Farley Post Office
421 8th Ave
New York, NY 10199
Info line
(212) 330-3000
Reading / adoption of letters to Santa:
Kickoff day: Friday, December 1st, 2017, 11am – 4pm
Additional days the public may adopt letters: December 4-22: Monday – Friday, 9am – 7pm; Saturdays 9am – 4pm; Closed Sundays, and December 23-25.
Last day to adopt letters: December 22, 2017
Last day to drop off / mail gifts: January 5th, 2018
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles District Office
7001 South Central Avenue
Los Angeles CA 90052
To read and adopt letters, go to the building at the North end of the large parking lot. Bring a valid ID.
USPS Info Hotline
(323) 586-4380
Reading / adoption of letters to Santa:
Kickoff day: Tuesday, December 5, 2017, 11am – 1pm
Days to adopt letters: Dec. 5, 7, 12 and 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ONLY
Last day to drop off gifts for mailing: December 21
Santa Ana, CA
Santa Ana District PO
3101 W. Sunflower Ave
Santa Ana CA 92799
Corner of Sunflower and Susan
USPS Info Hotline
(714) 662-6480
Reading / adoption of letters to Santa:
Kickoff day: Tuesday, December 5, 2017, 11am – 1pm
Days to adopt letters: Dec. 5, 7, 12 and 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ONLY
Last day to drop off gifts for mailing: December 21
Santa Clarita, CA
Sierra Coastal District
28201 Franklin Pkwy
Santa Clarita CA 91383
Enter Gate 2
USPS Info Hotline:
(661) 775-6731
Reading / adoption of letters to Santa:
Kickoff day: Tuesday, December 5, 2017, 11am – 1pm
Days to adopt letters: Dec. 5, 7, 12 and 14 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Last day to drop off gifts for mailing: December 21
Chicago, IL
Chicago District Post Office
433 W Harrison St
Chicago IL 60607
Lobby, 2nd Floor Mezzanine
USPS Info
(312) 523-5840 or (312) 983-8017
Reading / adoption of letters to Santa:
December 5-21: 7:30 am- 7:00 pm
Closed Sundays
Boston, MA
Greater Boston District Post Office
25 Dorchester Ave
Boston MA 02205
Adjacent to South Station train tracks
USPS Info
(617) 654-5802
Reading / adoption of letters to Santa:
8am to 4pm, Monday thru Friday, starting November 27, 2017 through Friday, December 15th, 2017
Last day to drop off packages for mailing: December 20th.
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Main PO
3000 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia PA 19104
In the lobby.
USPS Contact: Bobby Mack
(215) 895-8610
(215) 895-8631
Reading / adoption of letters to Santa:
Monday, November 27th, 2017 – December 8th, 2017
Monday – Friday, 12pm – 3pm
Ask for package drop-off days and hours during your first visit.
San Francisco, CA
Main San Francisco Post Office
1300 Evans Avenue
San Francisco CA 94188
Post office lobby
USPS Info
(415)550-5005
Reading / adoption of letters to Santa:
11am to 1pm ONLY, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting November 30, 2017 and on December 5. 7, 12, 14, 19
Drop-off / mailing of gifts to children:
8am – 7pm, December 4 – December 21 (excluding Sundays)
Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati P& DC
1623 Dalton Ave, Room 331-A
Cincinnati OH 45234
Lobby
USPS Info
(513) 684-5133
Deadline to submit a letter to Santa: December 13th
Reading / adoption of letters to Santa:
Monday, November 13th, 2017 – December 16th, 2017
Monday – Friday, 10am – 7pm
Last days to drop off / mail gifts:
Monday, December 18th, 2017, 9am – 7pm
Tuesday, December 19th, 8am – 2pm
Sacramento, CA
Royal Oaks Post Office
2000 Royal Oaks Drive
Sacramento CA 95813
Post office lobby
USPS Info
(916)263-7161
Reading / adoption of letters to Santa:
November 28 – December 15th
10am – 6pm weekdays
10am – 4pm Saturdays
Last day to adopt letters or drop off packages for mailing: December 15th
Mr. Reynolds’ bio is at www.Anti-smoking.org/bio/ and links to his past TV interviews about Be An Elf are below.
A national list of participating Operation Santa branches with USPS contacts may be found at http://www.BeAnElf.org/locations/
Be An Elf contacts:
Marc Kruskol
MJK Public Relations
(661)538-1789 (For reporters only)
Patrick Reynolds, Chief Elf
Be An Elf
(310) 880-1111 Cell (For reporters only)
BeAnElf.org SOCIAL MEDIA
https://twitter.com/HowToBeAnElf
https://Facebook.com/BeAnElfOrg
https://Youtube.com/BeAnElfOrg/
Past news interviews
Fox News Channel Story with Be An Elf’s Chief Elf, Patrick Reynolds, December 5, 2011
MSNBC News Segment with Be An Elf’s Chief Elf, Patrick Reynolds, December 4, 2011
Westwood One Radio News, Two 40 second national radio segments, December 10, 2015 (Click here for video)
Fox News Segment December 15, 2013
NBC Today Show At end of a filmed story on the USPS Operation Santa program, the anchors mentioned our website BeAnElf.org “for more information,” and put up a title of the web address on screen – December 9, 2012
IMAGES AND ART
BeAnElf offers downloadable high resolution photos and children’s letters.
Source: BeAnElf.org
First news release – November 20th, 2017:
LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO, CHICAGO, NEW YORK, BOSTON AND 10 OTHER MAJOR US CITIES – November 20, 2017 – Shortly after Thanksgiving, the USPS Operation Santa program will begin allowing the public to adopt letters to Santa written by low income children. Christmas volunteers may adopt a child’s letter to Santa and mail gifts directly to the child who wrote him. The Postal Service is offering the letters in 15 major cities this year, in most cases only for the first two to three weeks of December.
Children writing to Santa sometimes include on their toy lists requests for “a warm coat”, “new shoes,” or “food, because we don’t have a lot of money.” Volunteers from the public select the saddest letters, and later mail their gifts directly to the child or family who needs a brighter Christmas.
The US Postal Service has made the children’s letters available every December since 1912. This year the letters to Santa may be picked up at a single postal branch in each of the following 15 cities: Los Angeles, New York, Syracuse, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Orlando, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Santa Clarita CA and Santa Ana CA. Each branch sets its own schedule for the program.
BeAnElf.org is a tax-exempt charity and website founded by Patrick Reynolds in 2004 to create public awareness of the USPS Operation Santa program, and to provide an online guide to the program. Mr. Reynolds is a grandson of tobacco company founder RJ Reynolds, but received an award from the White House for his work against Big Tobacco. While not affiliated with the USPS program, Be An Elf creates public awareness of it, publishes a national list of participating postal branches, recruits hundreds of new volunteers every year, and offers tips for volunteering and alternative ways to volunteer, when there is no Operation Santa branch nearby.
“Some Operation Santa volunteers feel alone and sad over the holidays, and find comfort and inspiration volunteering for this program. Others have families and bring their kids to teach them the meaning of Christmas,” says Patrick Reynolds, Chief Elf at Be An Elf.
BeAnElf.org suggests gifts like backpacks, school supplies, new clothes, books, and a small gift for the mothers, whom the site says are sometimes living below the poverty line, and feeling sad over the holidays. The site notes that some moms also write to Santa, listing their children’s clothing and shoe sizes. The site suggests adopting additional letters and mailing families gift cards from Target or CostCo, and let the Moms do the shopping for their families.
BeAnElf.org recommends giving a holiday party at which friends are asked to bring gifts. The site suggests they wrap them together and share the cost, the work and the fun. Companies may adopt multiple letters to Santa, and distribute them to interested employees.
Mr. Reynolds’ bio is at www.Anti-smoking.org/bio/ and links to his past cable news interviews about Be An Elf are below.
A national list of participating Operation Santa branches with USPS contacts may be found at http://www.BeAnElf.org/locations/
Be An Elf contacts:
Marc Kruskol
MJK Public Relations
(661)538-1789 (For reporters only)
Patrick Reynolds, Chief Elf
Be An Elf
(310) 880-1111 Cell (For reporters only)
BeAnElf.org SOCIAL MEDIA
https://twitter.com/HowToBeAnElf
https://Facebook.com/BeAnElfOrg
https://Youtube.com/BeAnElfOrg/
Past news interviews
Fox News Channel Story with Be An Elf’s Chief Elf, Patrick Reynolds, December 5, 2011
MSNBC News Segment with Be An Elf’s Chief Elf, Patrick Reynolds, December 4, 2011
Westwood One Radio News, Two 40 second national radio segments, December 10, 2015 (Click here for video)
Fox News Segment December 15, 2013
NBC Today Show At end of a filmed story on the USPS Operation Santa program, the anchors mentioned our website BeAnElf.org “for more information,” and put up a title of the web address on screen – December 9, 2012
BeAnElf offers downloadable high resolution photos and children’s letters.
Source: BeAnElf.org
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