Providence, R.I. — All post offices in the Southeast New England District of the US Postal Service will be open on Christmas eve day but most are closing earlier than usual. Several Post Offices, including the Providence Post Office located at 24 Corliss Street, the Brockton Post Office at 120 Commercial Street and the Hyannis Post Office at 385 Main Street will be open until 5 PM but retail counters in all others in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts will close at 12 noon. This will allow postal employees to spend more time with their families and provide savings to the Postal Service during a challenging economic time.

The Providence Post Office lobby will remain open for the usual 24 hours to allow customers to use the Automated Postal Center (APC) in the lobby. Several other Post Offices also have 24 hour service at APCs. The APC is a stand alone kiosk that customers can use to perform most postal services. Using credit and debit cards, the APC enables customers to:

• Buy the same self-adhesive stamps that are provided through ATMs.
• Weigh, calculate and purchase postage in any amount for items weighing up to 70 lbs.
• Send items via Flat Rate, Express Mail®, Priority Mail®, First-Class Mail®, and Parcel Post®.
• Look up ZIP Codes™ and obtain Postal Service mailing information.
• Obtain Express Mail, Certified Mail™, and Return Receipts.
• Purchase Delivery Confirmation™ service and obtain a receipt.
• Conduct postal business 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

APCs are available 24 hours a day in Providence, RI; Cranston, RI; Johnston, RI; East Greenwich, RI; Wakefield, RI and Randolph, MA; Middletown, MA; and Mansfield, MA. Customers may visit www.usps.com and click on locate a post office or call 1-800-ASKUSPS for more information Although Post Offices will be closed on December 25th, Express Mail will be delivered as it is every day throughout the year. Regular mail delivery will resume on December 27th.

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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 direct support from taxpayers. 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 28th in the 2009 Fortune 500.