What:

Local U.S. Postal Service employees will visit the Kahauiki Village for formerly homeless families on Nov. 17 to introduce its USPS Operation Santa program and help the village’s keiki write their Christmas wish letters to Santa Claus.

“We’re excited to invite the keiki of this very special community to participate in our USPS Operation Santa program,” said USPS Holiday Spokesperson Joanne Short. “With so many island families struggling due to financial or health issues related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impacts, some parents may not be able to fulfill their children’s holiday wishes this year. That’s where USPS Operation Santa comes in.

“We hope that our visit will result in the fulfillment of Christmas wishes for every Kahauiki keiki who writes a Santa letter.”

During this event U.S. Postal Service employees will assist approximately 100 previously homeless children with the creation and addressing of their Christmas wish letters to Santa.

USPS Operation Santa (USPSOperationSanta.com) is a free program administered by the U.S. Postal Service that accepts children’s letters to Santa and makes them available online for potential “adoption” by anonymous gift givers. Adopters fulfill keiki letter writers’ Christmas wishes by purchasing and sending them gifts on behalf of Santa.

In 2020 more than 23,000 Santa letters submitted from across the nation—including 140 from Hawaii--were adopted.

Who:

Allyssa Koki, Kahauiki Village Manager

Joanne Short, USPS Holiday Spokesperson

When:

1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17

Where:

Kahauiki Village
2325 N. Nimitz Highway
Honolulu, HI  96819

Background:

Kahauiki Village, a public/private partnership between the state of Hawaii, the City & County of Honolulu and the aio Foundation, provides long-term, low cost, permanent housing for previously homeless families. Family program case management and children’s educational programming is managed by IHS, The Institute for Human Services.

Since its beginning in 1912, the USPS Operation Santa program has helped to connect millions of children and their families with generous adopters. In recent years, the program transitioned from a hard-copy program hosted by certain Post Offices to a digital program that allows customers to access Santa letters at the USPS Operation Santa web site.

To participate in the program as a potential holiday gift recipient, all children need to do is write a letter to Santa, put it in an envelope with a First-Class Mail Forever stamp, include their complete return address, and send it to the USPS Operation Santa workshop address:

Santa Claus
123 Elf Road
North Pole 88888

Letters must be postmarked by Dec. 10 and will be uploaded to the USPS Operation Santa website (USPSOperationSanta.com) through Dec. 15 for potential adoption.

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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