Children get special deliveries through USPS' ‘Operation Santa'

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - In one week, children celebrating Christmas may get a special delivery in the mail thanks to some of Santa’s helpers and the U.S. Postal Service.

The generosity of strangers helps bring a smile to a child’s face through “Operation Santa” every year.
According to the USPS, this is the 103rd anniversary of the program as it “continues to fulfill the dreams of children nationwide.”

Thousands of letters written to Santa are assigned a number. The personal information of children is kept anonymous. An adult can then adopt a letter and return the request present for the child anonymously.
Deborah Brady with the U.S. Post Office on Evans Street in San Francisco said every child is responded to.

“The response is overwhelming,” she said. “We just get a ton of them responded to and the people that respond, they even come back for more.”

This is the first year Brandon Smith and his co-workers at UBS Private Wealth Management participated. They sponsored 60 children.

“The office really gravitated to directly impacting a child’s life through the mail anonymously,” Smith said.
The letters range in requests.

“One girl only wanted her dad’s back to feel better,” Smith said. “She isn’t thinking of herself at this time, but her family and how she can help them.”

Although these “elves” don’t’ know the children they’re helping or where the packages will end up, the thought of making a child’s day on Christmas morning is enough.

“We’ve touched a lot of families and it’s really an incredible program,” Brady added.