NEW YORK, NY — The Postal Service’s annual Operation Santa program, a campaign that has helped fulfill holiday wishes of children and their families for more than a century in New York, is currently open to receive public nominations for a Community Elf-in-Charge.

Operation Santa is an annual letter-writing program for individuals, businesses and charitable organizations to make Christmas wishes come true by responding to children’s letters addressed to Santa Claus, the North Pole and other seasonal characters.

New York City’s Operation Santa serves as the largest public adoption Post Office in the country and this year the program is inviting the public to nominate, or self-nominate, a candidate who is interested in advancing the mission of the program and sharing the joy of the season in tandem with the Postal Service.

The Postal Service’s New York District Manager Lorraine Castellano shared, “letters received by the Operation Santa program tell the story of someone in need, they tell the story of adopters who assist, and they tell the great story of the Postal Service connecting our customers through the power of mail.”  

The candidate selected should have a history with participating in the program. They will be selected by the USPS and work with the local postal leadership to support the mission of the program. USPS will invite the Community Elf-in-Charge to participate in all official USPS events related to the program, including a very special assignment as part of the program’s annual kickoff ceremony at the iconic James A. Farley Post Office lobby later this holiday season. 

The position is voluntary and is not to be considered as a postal hiring.

“Operation Santa is a magical postal tradition and we’re very excited to work with a Community Elf-in-Charge to spread goodwill to communities throughout New York City,” said Acting Manhattan Executive Postmaster Marcellina Del Pizzo.

Nominations for the position of Community-Elf-in-Charge will be accepted through October 15th and can be mailed to New York City’s Operation Santa Elf Program Communications at:

Elf Program Communications
380 West 33rd Street Room: 4056
New York, NY 10199-9998

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