(Photo caption: Screenshot taking from the Operation’s website)

A little girl sits hunched over a desk, hand furiously moving across a battered paper as she scribbles down her heart’s greatest wishes to the one-and-only Santa Claus. In her letter, she wishes not for the newest grand Barbie house, nor does she even mention obtaining any plethora of stuffed animals; instead, her request is both more simple yet soul-touchingly profound- she just wants her out-of-work mother to get a present. This spectacular trend of young children writing to Santa and asking for something to be given to their family was observed in the ingenious program started by USPS, in which people can ‘adopt’ a kid’s letter and provide them with the gift they wrote about. As to be expected, his program has produced truly beautiful results as the holiday spirit remains in high fever.

The premise to Operation Santa is simple- a child will write a letter to Santa, following which a stranger can adopt said letter and fulfill the child’s wishes by sending them any number of gifts. The idea came to be in 1912, after Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock grew troubled by the amount of mail addressed to Santa by children in impoverished circumstances and decided to allow postal employees and citizens to respond as a fill-in Mr. Clause. Operation Santa only continued to evolve from there, extending its partnership to charity organizations and corporations, as well as opening sites across the nation. 

In large part due to the pandemic and its consequential rampant unemployment levels, many families find themselves in a precarious position when contending with holiday costs this year. This is where Operation Santa comes into play, creatively connecting those whose parents might be short on money with generous strangers willing to lend a helping hand. This year alone, 19,141 letters have already been adopted. That’s not just an impressive number; it’s a guaranteed smile on the face of nearly 20,000 kids, who will now not have to suffer a deprived Christmas, thanks to the widespread generosity of giving Americans.

Never is it more imperative to provide and help others than in times of need. It can be universally agreed that the whole of 2020 is one giant global period of need; however it can also be said in the same breath that never has it been more apparent that people are earnestly willing to step up to the plate. Operation Santa provides people with an outlet to express their good-will, while also ensuring a joyous Christmas for families around the nation. It’s a true Christmas joy, and it’s one that can easily accessed by going to uspsoperationsanta.com