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UPDATE
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 starting 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, perhaps at this website. 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. The last remaining Operation Santa branches will be open until Christmas Eve: one in Chicago and one in New York City. See our Directory for the contact info. For members of the public who do not live in those cities, Be An Elf offers these other ways to volunteer. Our previous press release is below.
-- For Immediate Release -- New site shows people how to get letters to Santa from
LOS ANGELES -- The North Pole is closer than you think -- it could be at a post office in your city. A new website, www.BeAnElf.org, aims to let the public know that in selected US cities, anyone can pick up letters to Santa written by kids who need a brighter Christmas, through the USPS' Operation Santa program. "It's micro-philanthropy, direct from you to a child," notes Be An Elf's home page. "Here you'll find the true spirit of the holidays." The public may obtain letters from children asking Santa for "a warm coat", "food or clothes" or "new shoes for my older brother." Gift suggestions at the website include backpacks, school supplies, clothes, and books. Few Americans are aware of the Operation Santa program, even though the Postal Service has quietly made letters to Santa available every Christmas season since 1912. Be An Elf's mission is to create awareness of the little-known program, recruit thousands of volunteers for it, and help people catch the true spirit of Christmas. Large cities like Los Angeles, New York City, or San Francisco have only one to three postal branches offering Operation Santa. The Postal Service in Washington DC allows the manager at each postal branch to decide whether their branch will offer the program. Instructions are posted at the BeAnElf site on how to locate the nearest local branch. If there is none, the site offers advice on how to approach a postal branch manager to start one, and offers other ways to volunteer at Christmas. One of Be An Elf's volunteers succeeded in interesting a postal manager on the South side of Atlanta to significantly expand the program in 2009. Individuals can make a difference. In response to public demand, BeAnElf.org has started a new national directory of post offices offering Operation Santa. Their staff update it with information sent by volunteers from around the nation, verifying new listings before posting. Be An Elf has requested a national list from the USPS in Washington DC, and will meet with the USPS in 2009 to discuss supporting their efforts. Be An Elf received a major in-kind grant from Google of $40,000 per month in advertising during November and December, for search terms such as "letters to Santa". This is driving thousands of new visitors daily to the website, and creating awareness of the program. From January to October, Google's grant is reduced to $10,000 per month. Companies may also participate in the Operation Santa program; post offices offering it allow employers to distribute letters to Santa to employees who sign up. Individual volunteers who pick up letters to Santa must show a photo ID and fill out an application before entering the branch's "North Pole" room. When they leave the post office, all letters taken are logged and attached to their application. BeAnElf.org has posted a new video on YouTube, Facebook and MySpace, downloadable in high resolution at the bottom of this page. In the video, volunteer Hans Dohm reads letters to Santa at the South Central Los Angeles post office's "North Pole" room, then shops for gifts to the children, and delivers his family's gifts on Christmas eve to smiling, surprised parents and kids. BeAnElf's Elf-in-Chief Patrick Reynolds prefers to remain in the background; he recommends that newsmedia tell the story of ordinary volunteers as they read letters to Santa at the post office, shop for kids' gifts, and deliver them to families. Volunteers may be found reading letters at any Operation Santa post office. Links to high resolution photos and B-roll video and audio are below. Scroll down for links to high resolution photos and video.
Contact: Lupe Lopez or Patrick Reynolds AP Story and photos ran in California on December 12, 2007
2. YouTube video (2:50) (Quicktime format) 3. Weekend Live, Fox News Channel, December 15, 2007 (3:04) Photos in high resolution are below.
See also More Photos with clickable high resolution jpgs
STOCK PHOTOS used at this site
For high resolution files of the Stock Photos used at this site:
First, create your own account at iStockphoto.com
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. |
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