"Operation Santa" is Coming to Town!

Postal employees and the general public will be able to fulfill the wishes of needy children in the South Florida community through “Operation Santa” this holiday season.

On Friday, December 3, Santa’s postal elves will be stationed in the Post Office Box lobbies of the Fort Lauderdale Main Office, South Florida Retail Unit, and West Palm Beach Main Office from 10 am to 1 pm, and at the Miami GMF Postal Store from 1 pm to 3 pm. These are four of only 30 participating Post Offices across the country.

Employees and customers may complete an application to select a child’s Santa letter, which will become available at a later date. They also may sign up for a Santa letter Monday through Friday, from 8 am to 5 pm, in the retail lobbies at the following locations:

FORT LAUDERDALE MAIN OFFICE
1900 W OAKLAND PARK BLVD, FORT LAUDERDALE
Coordinator: Tashia Romano-Kravitz
Phone: 954-527-3281

MIAMI GMF POSTAL STORE
2200 NW 72 AVE, MIAMI
Coordinator: Rose Castro
Phone: 305-470-0386

SOUTH FLORIDA RETAIL UNIT
16000 PINES BLVD, PEMBROKE PINES
Coordinator: Rose Mesenger-Mannisto
Phone: 954-443-6527

WEST PALM BEACH MAIN OFFICE
3200 SUMMIT BLVD, WEST PALM BEACH
Coordinator: JoAnn Goodrich
Phone: 561-697-2145

To protect children and their privacy, volunteers will receive a photocopy, instead of the original letter. The photocopy will have personal information, including name and address, blackened out. Volunteers will purchase their gifts and bring them back to one of the above locations to pay for the postage to have items shipped to the recipient. Holiday packages must be returned to one of the above designated locations on or before 5 pm on Wednesday, December 22.

In keeping with tradition, Santa remains committed to reading every child’s holiday letter. Stationed at the North Pole, Santa and his elves are building toys at a feverish pace to fulfill the wishes of good girls and boys. Santa has asked some South Florida postal employees to help address the postcard that he sends to children in response to their letters. After all, postal employees are the experts on proper addressing to ensure that the mail gets delivered to the correct destination!