RALEIGH, NC — Contrary to popular belief and recent news reports, the Postal Service is still gladly accepting letters to Santa Claus, just as it has done in years past.

Children are reminded to get their letters to Santa Claus written and mailed by December 11, 2009, if they would like to receive a response from Santa. The “outpost” for Santa’s workshop in the Triangle Area is open and ready for business.

With the cooperation of Santa, the Pilot Club of Raleigh, NC Coastal Pines Girl Scout Troop 1150, and the Postal Service, every effort will be made to respond to each child’s letter to Santa. Letters should be addressed to:

SANTA CLAUS
NORTH POLE SUBSTATION
PO BOX 9995
RALEIGH NC 27676-9995

Approximately 2,000 letters have been received so far this year at Raleigh’s North Pole Substation. Unfortunately, approximately 300 of those will be unanswered due to lack of a complete return name or address, so it’s important to make sure all letters should include the first and last names of the child and a complete, legible return address.

Santa will soon be too busy to answer letters as he will be getting everything ready for Christmas Eve, so girls and boys should make sure they get their letters in and let Santa know if they have been naughty or nice!

Questions may be directed to James Chism, (A) USPS Customer Relations Coordinator, Raleigh, NC, at 919-420-5148.

In regard to earlier reports of the demise of the program, there are programs around the country, including one in North Pole, Alaska, that has discontinued participating in its own Santa letters program, which like the one in Raleigh, is governed locally, not nationally. Concerns of children’s letters that include full names and home addresses that could fall into the wrong hands have caused the Postal Service to take extra precautions to protect the privacy and safety of the children. It has no effect on the program in Raleigh.

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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. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 26th in the 2008 Fortune 500.