BeAnElf.org shows you how to obtain a letter to Santa Claus written by a child who needs a brighter Christmas.

At participating post offices, you can read real letters to Santa from needy kids, and choose the letters that move you. Then send gifts marked "from Santa," or deliver them yourself on Christmas and see the smiles.

When you do, there's no middle man or charity -- it's micro-philanthropy, direct from you to a child. You and your family will catch the true spirit of the holidays.

Our group's mission is simple: to create awareness of the little-known USPS Operation Santa program, and recruit thousands of new volunteers for it.

You can make a needy child's Christmas wish come true. We invite you to volunteer.

At this site you will learn how to find out whether or not the letters from children are available at a central postal branch in your city, and if not, other ways to be an elf.

If you can't volunteer your time, please donate online to Be An Elf, or give by check. Online you may give anonymously.

Your gift will help us let more people know about the Operation Santa program, started by the US Postal Service in 1912. Help us recruit new volunteers, and together we will make more children in need smile on Christmas morning. Your donation will also help us develop new software to protect kids.

Please donate now!

Our You Tube video tells the story best.
Not every city has a central postal branch offering this program.

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UPDATE
Operation Santa available only
in New York City and Chicago

A NBC Nightly News video on December 19th and an Associated Press story of December 20th reported that the USPS briefly closed its 96 year old Operation Santa program due to concerns over children's privacy. The Postal Service resumed the program December 20th, but only in Chicago and in New York City, and with tighter controls. Children's addresses would be removed from their letters, a number would be assigned to each letter, and volunteers could return to the post office with their gifts. Postal workers will then ship the gifts on to children.

From the AP December 20th story: "A sex offender is responsible for taking away some of the joy of the Postal Service's Operation Santa program: Volunteers who answer children's letters to Santa can no longer deliver gifts in person — or even know where they're going. The program resumed Saturday morning in New York and Chicago, three days after it was abruptly suspended after a postal worker in Maryland recognized one volunteer as a registered offender. A postal inspector intervened before the individual could answer a child's letter, but officials decided changes had to be made."

Be An Elf hopes to work with the USPS in 2009 to develop new software which will allow the Postal Service to remove children's addresses, and post thousands of letters from low income children online. When a volunteer clicks on "Send a gift", a shipping label with a barcode would be printed out with no address. Only post office scanners could decipher the barcode and then deliver the gift, perhaps even with no postage needed.

Addresses for the last remaining Operation Santa branches still open, in Chicago and New York City, are in our Directory.

If you do not live in those cities, here are some other ways to volunteer.

Your gift will help us develop new software to protect kids.

Donations are tax-deductible and may be made anonymously.

Please donate now!

Logo design donated by Giovanni Dizon (gdizon at mac.com). Principal photography licensed through istockphoto.com. Additional photography donated by elves. Video filmed by Patrick Reynolds and edited by James Connolly (jamespc1234 at msn.com). Principal website design and digital imaging donated by art101.com. Additional website design and site updates donated by elves. © 2007 BeAnElf.org. All rights reserved.