November 22, 2002 Addressing the big guy Kids love writing letters to Santa Claus. They love sending him their Christmas wish-lists of toys and gadgets. That's why many post offices across the country have local Letters to Santa programs. New York City is recognized as hosting the largest one in the country. The Letters to Santa program is a holiday tradition that the Postal Service has supported for a long time — at least 90 years. It was in 1912 when USPS first allowed individuals or institutions to use letters addressed to Santa Claus for philanthropic purposes. Here are some tips to share with parents. Kids should include a return address on letters to their favorite North Pole resident. It helps Santa's helpers when responding to the letters. The contents should be limited to letter-sized paper only. Placing cookies, candy canes or other bulky items in the letters could damage sorting equipment.

Page 2 of 2     Back     [ Home ] November 22, 2002 It's a "suite" solution. PostalOne!  makes it easier for mailers to do business with USPS WASHINGTON — Think of it as "info central." PostalOne! enables an electronic link between USPS and its business mailers, allowing an exchange of information that benefits everyone involved with this type of mail.  In many ways, PostalOne! is a new tool that manages workflow for the mailing industry. Although development will continue over the next three years, the basic electronic linkage is already developed and being used by mailers to automate and streamline many of the manual and hardcopy documentation processes used in the business mail production cycle.  The new system links the customer's mailing information with the Postal Service's acceptance, verification and payment systems.  "The basic principle of PostalOne! is simple — we want to make it easier for business mailers to do business with us," says Larry Goodman, manager of Business Customer Support Systems.  The fundamental design will provide customers a one-stop shopping experience for payment and other mailing information by offering them an electronic suite of services that dramatically impacts the mailing process.  Nationwide deployment of PostalOne! will be completed by May 2005. Dozens of current users include many of the nation's largest business mailers.  For more information about PostalOne!, visit www.uspspostalone.com.