Registration has opened for USPS Operation Santa, the annual program that allows people to “adopt” letters to help Santa Claus grant holiday wishes to others experiencing hardship.
Beginning Nov. 14, anyone wanting to adopt a letter can go to USPSOperationSanta.com, select the registration link and follow the prompts.
For security reasons, all prospective adopters must register to create an account and have their identities verified before they can participate. If someone has adopted letters in the past, a new account must be created, and they must be verified each year.
Letters will be available for adoption beginning Nov. 28. Verified adopters can read the letters and select one or more at that time.
Businesses and other organizations can also get into the spirt of the season by creating teams to adopt letters. Everyone participating on a team must also complete the verification process.
Once the letters are chosen, the adopters must follow the directions they received in their welcome email to fulfill requested holiday wishes.
Letter adopters are also responsible for all costs to ship the gift packages, including appropriate postage.
If potential adopters are unable to verify their identity online, they have the option to get verified in person. Customers will be emailed a barcode and the location of the nearest participating Post Office location; qualifying offices can be found online using the usps.com locator tool.
The annual program began accepting letters from those in need on Sept. 15 — six weeks earlier than last year. Letters sent to USPS Operation Santa must be postmarked no later than Dec. 12. The deadline to adopt letters is Dec. 19.
A Nov. 14 news release explains how to participate in the program.
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