U.S. Postal Service Delivers Children's Holiday Dreams Through Letters to Santa Program - Now Celebrating 100 Years

"Letters to Santa" is an annual letter-writing program for individuals, businesses and charitable organizations to respond to children's letters addressed to Santa Claus, the North Pole and other seasonal characters. To mark the start of the letter adoption period, a ceremony was held today at New York City's Operation Santa command center — the iconic James A. Farley building — with a special appearance by Santa Claus.

"We are delighted to once again kick off the holiday mailing season with the start of our annual 'Letters to Santa program'," said Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe.

The Postal Service expects to deliver more than 15.2 billion cards, letters and packages between now and Christmas Eve. This year, a postmark of Santa in his sleigh being pulled by six reindeer will appear in the upper right-hand corner of holiday cards and letters.

"The 'Letters to Santa' program has made dreams come true for those in need for 100 years," added Donahoe. This is a time to celebrate how postal employees, charitable organizations, businesses and others have made a difference in the lives of children coast to coast."

To learn more about the USPS "Letters to Santa" program and to view a list of participating Post Offices, visit usps.com/holidaynews.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.