Attn All New Yorkers: USPS Needs Your Help For Operation Santa

The United States Post Office often gets a bad rap, especially this time a year when the tracking goes from "waiting to be mailed, straight to delivered." I have no issues with the Post Office, but then I just might have a unique perspective in to the USPS as my Uncle Tommy was a letter carrier for over 30 years. It is amazing, even though he has been retired for 20 years, he can still tell you zip codes and addresses for most of the businesses in the town where he worked and lived. Yes, random trivia but he was a dedicated postal employee and proud to be.

I worked for a short time at the Fishkill Mail Coding Center around the time of 9/11. I learned so much and met so many great people. The question I still get asked to this day, always had something to do with did I get a discount on stamps? The answer is no. As, I mentioned, I might have a bit of a different perspective on it.

Why is the USPS asking for your help at the Holidays?

The USPS needs Christmas/Holiday help, not just with letter carriers and sorters, but they also have a 'job' that you can do from your home. No, this job will not pay you in monies, or stamps, but it will pay you ten fold in feel-good-feelings. They are looking for people to join in on "Operation Santa." 

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What is Operation Santa with the USPS and how can you help?

Operation Santa is a program that the US Postal Service puts on every year. They get thousands of letters to Santa every year and knowing that the big guy can't respond to each and every one, the USPS recruits kind volunteers, like yourself to help make young ones Christmas Merry and Bright.

What do you need to do as an Operation Santa participant? Does it cost a lot?

Here are the steps to make someone's holiday better from the USPS website:

• Read Look through letters and adopt ones you love.
• Shop Find the perfect gift, and keep it anonymous— it's from Santa, after all.
• Wrap Pack your gifts in a box using our shipping guidelines.
• Ship Bring the gift and postage to a participating Post Office™.

Not sure you can swing it by yourself? Ask a few friends to join in with you or even your co-workers. It is all about doing what you can comfortably afford to do. Happy Holidays, and Merry Christmas.

Here's a look at the towns that could be straight out of a Christmas Movie! 

Shhh Santa Won't Tell!