By Walter Gong
Every year Santa''s helpers answer hundreds of letters from Provo children -- even though the Postal Service doesn''t deliver to the North Pole.
Like other post offices around the country, Provo''s East Bay Post Office deals with hundreds of letters addressed to Santa every year. Last week alone, the office processed more than 40 letters.
'What are you going to do with them?' said Mark VanHouten, customer service supervisor at the East Bay Office. 'Throw them away?'
The East Bay office is responsible for Utah mail from south Provo. Instead of discarding the letters as undeliverable, postal workers send responses. Methods differ from office to office, but at the East Bay office workers write a form letter from 'Santa''s helper' every year, thanking the child for his letter and assuring him that Santa received it.
Injured employees who would otherwise miss work are often assigned to be Santa''s helper, VanHouten said. They write 'North Pole' as the return address and reply to every letter sent to Santa.
Because letters are handled at the office level, no one in the office knows how many letters are sent to Santa nationally every year.
VanHouten said he feels a responsibility not to let children down at Christmas.
'Sometimes I''ve read letters that will bring you to tears,' VanHouten said.
Many of the letters to Santa ask for help, sometimes for 'Mommy or Daddy,' VanHouten said.
'Kids aren''t that selfish,' VanHouten said. 'They really don''t want that much for themselves.'
The office anticipates between 200 and 300 letters to Santa this year. Each one will get an answer, VanHouten said.