BOSTON MA –The Greater Boston District of the U.S. Postal Service will kick off its annual Operation Santa program at 9 a.m. on Monday, November 26th on the first floor of the Four Points Station, located at 25 Dorchester Street in Boston MA. And don’t be surprised if you hear sleigh bells – we might have a special guest on hand to provide some jolly good cheer.

“There is nothing more precious during the Christmas holiday than the joy of watching a child’s eyes light up as they open a gift sent to them straight from Santa. And not just any gift, but the gift they specifically asked Santa to bring,” said Boston Postmaster Jim Holland. “We are delighted to once again participate in this worthy community event.”

Postal customers (and employees) can stop by the Operation Santa Office starting Monday, November 26, through Wednesday, December 19, between the hours of 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM (Monday through Friday) and 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Saturdays to select a letter from a needy family. The office is located at 25 Dorchester Avenue, Boston MA 02205 (in the Main Post Office located adjacent to South Station tracks).

This year’s Operation Santa program will celebrate the Postal Service’s 100th anniversary of this worthwhile community program and will Kick-Off on Monday, November 26, 2012 at 9 a.m. in the Operation Santa office located on the first floor of the Fort Point Station.

As much as history reveals, the Postal Service began receiving letters to Santa Claus more than 100 years ago. However, its involvement was made official when in 1912 Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized local Postmasters to allow postal employees and citizens to respond to the ever growing number of letters received every holiday season. 

This year, 2012, the Postal Service is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Letters to Santa program as it continues to fulfill the dreams of children nationwide. One hundred years later, postal employees, volunteers and organizations remain committed to making children’s Christmas wishes come true.

In Boston, letters can be picked up only until 3:00 PM on December 19 to allow ample time for volunteers to purchase that special gift for the children on their list. All gifts must be boxed, taped securely and brought to the Fort Point Station Retail Office also located at 25 Dorchester Avenue, where you will need to pay for the postage to have your package shipped to the family. Packages must be received no later than Friday, December 21 to ensure delivery by Christmas Eve.

Gifts must be packaged and ready to ship when you bring them to the Post Office.  Free Priority Mail boxes and Flat Rate boxes are available at any local Post Office or may be ordered online. For information on shipping, please go to http://www.usps.com/business/shippingtools/welcome.htm and for more holiday information, please visit our holiday newsroom at http://about.usps.com/news/electronic-press-kits/holidaynews/2012/welcome.htm#p=1

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

For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional, please go to http://about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation — 151 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 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, Oxford Strategic Consulting ranked the U.S. Postal Service number one in overall service performance of the posts in the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world. 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 for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.