USPS opens letter adoption for Operation Santa

By THE STAR STAFF

The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced Monday that it has begun letter adoptions for Operation Santa, an initiative that allows individuals and groups to fulfill the wishes sent by children and families during the holiday season.

“We invite the public to join us in spreading joy by adopting a letter,” said Sheila Holman, vice president of marketing for the USPS, in a written statement. “Each year we receive more letters than adopters, so if you have the opportunity, we encourage you to participate.”

According to the statement, this year’s program includes a special emphasis on adopting family letters through a feature that allows teams, offices or community groups to coordinate with each other to fulfill all the requests from a single household.

Those interested should visit USPSOperationSanta.com, create an account, verify their identity, and select the available letters. They can then purchase gifts themselves or through the online catalog and mail them. The Postal Service recommends mailing packages before Dec. 13 to ensure timely delivery.

The team feature allows one person to form a group, invite other participants, and coordinate the adoption of all the letters from a single family. The team leader can see which letters remain unadopted and take responsibility for completing them to ensure everyone receives an adoption.