LOS ANGELES — For generations, writing a letter to Santa Claus has been a tradition during the holidays. And for some kind-hearted folks, answering those letters has also been a holiday custom.

Back in 1912, Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized postal employees and local citizens to respond to the many letters written to Santa. The goodwill program, known as Operation Santa, has changed over the years. In the 1940’s, mail volume for Santa grew so much that the Postal Service invited local businesses and charitable organizations to participate by providing written responses and small gifts.

Today handwritten letters addressed to Santa Claus still arrive at the Post Office. Although current privacy and security regulations prevent personal information contained in the letters (such as a last name and address) being given to the public, the program continues on in many locations with the Postal Service acting as middle man.

Businesses and corporations, charitable groups and individual citizens can adopt letters from children or families who may need some extra help this year. Personal information in the letters is redacted by USPS staff and those who answer letters will have to make a return trip to the Post Office to mail the letter or package and have the USPS apply the mailing address.

Those interested in answering a letter written to Santa can visit one of the locations listed below by ZIP Code on the dates and times indicated. Photo identification is required to adopt a letter.

Participants are provided a copy of the Santa letter of their choice, which is coded and has had personal information removed. When they return to the Post Office to mail a gift package to fulfill the wish of the Santa letter writer, the Postal Service will match the coded photocopy Santa letter with the original and apply the name and address to the item.

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/news.

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 $67 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.