Operation Santa Claus Program Begins December 1 in NYC

Operation Santa Claus answers Dear Santa letters from needy children

Operation Santa Claus in NYC is back for another year to offer an opportunity to help the less fortunate this Christmas.

For more than 100 years, volunteer postal workers have answered letters to Santa from children who would otherwise have no Christmas at all.

Operation Santa Claus, based out of the James A. Farley building across from Madison Square Garden, continues to grow and evolve each year. And this Christmas season, Operation Santa Claus may be available at your local post office. Please check with your postmaster to find out where you can get “Dear Santa” letters. Call 1-800-ASK-USPS to obtain the telephone number of your post office.

All you have to do is show proper identification (drivers license or other government photo ID) and fill out a brief application form. Then you can choose up to five letters from children who have little of no hope of receiving a Christmas present.

If you are a company or other group wanting to pick up to 10 letters you will need to make a third party appointment by calling 212-330-3000 and filling out a brief application form.

LETTERS to SANTA PROGRAM

Delivering the Holidays, Delivering Dreams

As close as we can tell, the Postal Service began receiving letters to Santa Claus more than 100 years ago. However, it was in 1912 that Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized local postmasters to allow postal employees and citizens to respond to the letters in the program that became known as Operation Santa.

In 1940, mail volume for Santa increased so much the Postal Service invited charitable organizations and corporations to participate to provide written responses to the letters and small gifts to the children who wrote them. Over the past 69 years, the program has taken on a life of its own. Postal facilities in cities around the country today allow charitable organizations, major corporations, local businesses and individuals to adopt letters to Santa to make children’s holiday dreams come true from coast to coast.

Individuals and organizations interested in adopting a letter should go to a participating office and complete a participation form.  Click here to print a PDF of participating post offices. You can also call your local post office to see if this wonderful program is available in your area. Call 1-800-ASK-USPS.

Kick off of Operation Santa Claus, 2008

Operation Santa Claus (NYC)

When: December 1, 2009 through December 24, 2009. Please note that you will not be able to pick up letters on December 1st until after the kick off of the program. You will be able to pick up letters at 1 pm.

Hours:

Monday through Saturday, 9 am – 4 pm

Thursday, 9 am – 7 pm

Third party by appointment: 212-330-3000

Where: the James A. Farley Post Office, 33rd and 8th, New York, NY

Customer Relations Office
James A Farley Building  (Click here for map and driving directions)
Room 3023
421 Eighth Avenue
NY NY 10199-9998

For more information about the program, call 212-330-3000.

Participating Post Office Locations Across America

Click here to print or view Operation Santa Claus locations in other cities.

Click here to print Individual Participant Form.

Click here to print Organization Participant Form.

Call your local post office to find out if this wonderful program is available in your area. 1-800-ASK-USPS.

Please email us with new locations that are not listed on this form and we will immediately add them to our list!

Thank you so much for your interest and participation in Operation Santa Claus and we wish you and yours the very merriest Christmas!

Please visit Operation Letters To Santa for almost 1000 pages of Winter Holiday and Christmas family traditions, recipes, games, crafts, Christmas sheet music, Christmas carols, tales and so much more!
 
For beautifully nostalgic and vintage FREE desktop wallpapers for Christmas please click here.