Article by Gene Lalor
Excerpts from the millions of letters received by the USPS “Operation Santa” which links needy kids with “Secret Santas:” Melanney, 9, asked Santa for a coat and boots. “I have been a very good girl this year,” she wrote. Another “little girl didn’t want anything for herself. She wanted a winter coat for her mother.” Cesar, age 7, wrote to Santa that, “This year my mom don’t have much money to spend on Christmas gifts so I’m writing to you. It would make us [Cesar and his baby sister] very happy if you and your elves would bring us toys and clothes.” One mom sent a turn-off notice from the electric company. A single mother of a girl, 8, and a boy, 2, wrote that she recently lost her job. “I am unable to buy my children toys and clothes. Santa, may you help me with my family?”
I doubt very much that those mothers still believe in Santa Claus, although anything is possible this time of year, especially since this has been a very tough time for many people. The postal elves at 20 post offices nationwide try to do their bit to help but even many of the Secret Santas seem to struggling and aren’t coming forward in the usual numbers to pick out a letter and fulfill a child’s, or a parent’s, Christmas wish: http://tiny.cc/wwz9w
Granted, the USPS isn’t America’s most popular institution but Operation Santa deserves everyone’s support. Functioning for almost 70 years, it taps into Americans’ fundamental generosity and, if nothing else, is a reminder of where they may have been and of the axiom, “There but for the grace of God go you, and yours.”
See the USPS website for participating post offices, participation forms, etc.: http://tiny.cc/p37yz
If you miss the deadline, there’s always an alternative: Make a financial contribution to the USPS Operation Santa fund, to the Marine’s Toys for Tots program, or just wing it, find a needy kid or family and make their day, and make it anonymous. A Melaney or a Cesar or a mom may not thank you personally-that’s the whole point of a “Secret Santa,” no?-but they’ll thank you nonetheless.
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