Even today, many children still believe in Santa Claus. The spirit of Christmas isn’t complete without these beautiful kids sending letters to him and expecting a reply or even a gift. It makes the holiday extra special.
Melissa Stinsman who is 26 years old is no ordinary mail carrier for the Bloomsburg Post Office in Pennsylvania. She has an extra job and she loves what she is doing. Can you guess what it is?
Melissa is the one who delightfully answers children’s letters to Santa Claus. Her station has this “special mailbox” in which she collects and answers the letters. Around the holiday season every day after her work shift, Melissa would voluntarily spend at least four hours a night just so she can answer the letters from these children. She does this from her home, or what we can call as the “North Pole.”
“I usually tell the kids to keep up their grades and to listen to their parents,” Melissa tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “One asked for a science kit so I told him that one day, he could become a scientist. “
It’s common to receive letters from kids asking for huge toys, magical creatures, and even lots of sweets but there was one letter that was different.
At first, this kid’s letter was just like all the others, in fact it included a specific list of the things he wanted. Roblox, a phone, and Legos are among the first things that he listed. However, as Melissa scrolls down, she read something that made her heart ache.
The 9-year-old boy who wrote the letter added “Dear Santa, I am going to star the top three items I really want.”
Surprisingly, it wasn’t the roblox or the phone that was marked, instead, this boy marked “Food for Family”, and “Clothing for Family”, along with the trampoline.
In the same envelope, she found 2 other letters. The first one was actually from the same boy. It says,
“Dear Santa, last year you didn’t notice me, so I hope this year you notice me, and this year I will be good. I pinkie promise…”
The other letter inside was a list from his 5-year-old younger brother.
“When I read the letter, I cried,” Melissa shared to Yahoo Lifestyle.
She knew in her heart that she wanted to help this boy and his family. Though, the only problem was that it didn’t include a return address. Good thing that Melissa is very familiar with the place and the boy provided his full name. From there she was able to ask around.
One day, though a bit hesitant, Melissa knocked on a door.
“I said, ‘Hi, this sounds weird but I work for the post office and I got your son’s letter. I’d like to help you guys this year,’” Melissa recalls as she tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “The mom said, ‘Is this real?’”
Melissa first planned to buy the family a $50 gift card, though she decided to change her mind and instead, she chose to start a money pool.
The people in her community were touched and they wanted to help.
“We raised about $500 and people dropped off food at the post office,” she happily shares in her interview.
Last January 4, 2020, Melissa started a GoFundMe campaign.
“Me and my friends and family raised money and donations for the needy family and I would like to try and do this every year with as many families as possible,” Melissa posted on her GoFundMe campaign.
