Operation Santa...US Postal Service Answer the many letters from Children!

December 17, 2009 | los_angeles, California | Vetting explained

Posted by:
Pixel

Viewed 43,953 times
Shared 234 times

CNN producer note

Pixel told me, 'the burdens of a child's heart are so clear from these letters. Remember when it was just toys?
- hhanks, CNN iReport producer

iReport —

Where do the letters go written to Santa? We know that he is not at the North pole. What quickly comes to my mind is the traditional Christmas movie, Miracle on 34th Street. The scene: Santa on trial, and the US postal service delivering bags and bags of Christmas letters to the court. Yes, it the United States Post Office that receives the children's letters to Santa. Postal volunteers work tirelessly to read, organize, and help postal workers to "adopt" a child.

Rich Maher, spokesperson for the postal service in California, said." Unfortunately , the public is no longer able to walk in and adopt a child. This was mandatory for the protection of the children. " California postal services do not have the man power to screen all the people who would be receiving the letters. Children need to be safe, "first and foremost, the goal is to protect the safety and privacy of children and their families" It is sad that it has come to this. The Postal employees will come to the rescue and answer these letters.

I was able to spend time with Rose Castine and Lynn Jones as they worked. They read many letters to me. Heartbreaking, to say the least. The change in economy has made the "wish List" one of "need", rather than of "wish". Children requested jobs for their parents, blankets for the cold, and food for their hungry stomachs. I wanted to grab a stack of letters and help! That would be on my wish list. These woman were incredible. They work 8 hours a day ,reading letter after letter... they truly are God's Angels, as well as Santa's Helpers.

There are many post offices throughout the US that do allow the public to participate.. 42 to be exact. If you are interested you can go to USPS.com and search for operation Santa.

There are also toy drops in each community. Toys for Tots Fire Stations, California Highway Patrol, Salvation Army, and many more. If possible, I encourage you to find a place ad drop off at least one present... it does make a difference.

http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2009/holiday/santa.htm

Posted in Assignment:
Everyday Heroes

Share this on:

del.icio.us

StumbleUpon

Comments

iReport welcomes a lively discussion, so comments on iReports are not pre-screened before they post. See the iReport community guidelines for details about content that is not welcome on iReport.

What is iReport?

Share

Tell a story, offer an opinion, say what's important to you.
Discuss

Join the conversation on the day's big issues.
Be heard

The best iReports get vetted and used on CNN platforms.

iReport is a user-generated section of CNN.com. The stories here come from users. CNN has vetted only the stories marked with the "CNN" badge. MORE...

CNN iReport