Murkowski Gets Commitment from Postal Service to Resume 'Dear Santa' Letter Responses
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced today that the United States Postal Service (USPS) has agreed to resume a program in Alaska that would allow volunteers to respond to Dear Santa letters from children across the country.
In a phone call today, Deputy Postmaster General Pat Donahoe told Murkowski that the USPS had reconsidered its position not to allow Alaskan volunteers to answer letters addressed “Dear Santa, North Pole.”
Donahoe told Murkowski, “We’re all set and ready to go.” He said the program would resume as in previous years but with new security requirements to protect childrens’ identities.
The Alaska USPS had decided to opt out of the ‘Dear Santa’ program following the imposition of new security guidelines requiring Postal Service employees to redact childrens’ last names and addresses and to track all letters in a database.
“I’m pleased that we were able to find a compromise that will allow children to hear back from Santa Claus this Christmas season,” Murkowski said. “I heard from a number of ‘Dear Santa’ volunteers in North Pole who expressed their disappointment with the USPS decision to opt out of the program. This decision today by the Postal Service brings the Christmas spirit back to Alaska.”
Murkowski wrote to Postmaster General John Potter earlier this week asking the USPS to allow the ‘Dear Santa’ program to continue in Alaska.
Volunteers who would like to participate in the program should contact their local post office.
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