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# Santa’s Little Helper
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/santas-little-helper/
- Published: 2006-12-25T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T23:25:46.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Community, Ocean Park, #archive-import, Homeless

*SM man answers Christmas wishes*

OCEAN PARK — While he may not have a bushy white beard, nine tiny reindeer or a belly that shakes like a bowl full of jelly,Andrew Cabello will be in the guise of Santa Claus for a handful of children living in poverty.

For the last six years, Cabello, a Santa Monica resident who runs a legal graphics business, has made a journey down to the Los Angeles Processing and Distribution Center of the U.S. Postal Service to hand-pick letters addressed to St. Nick that were written by youngsters whose parents can’t afford to give gifts.

“I came from a poor neighborhood in Boyle Heights and made success of myself and my business, so I want to give back to the community in any way I can,” Cabello, 49, said.“I know what it’s like to be poor and, for me, there’s no better way to spread the spirit of Christmas than to help out a family in need.”

This year, Cabello grabbed 10 letters from children living in South and East Los Angeles and distributed several others to friends and family, asking them to participate as well.

“You can’t imagine the look on their faces when they wake up Christmas morning to find presents,” said Cabello. “The kids and their parents are just so grateful and choked-up. They are just so grateful and it really feels good to be able to help someone who is less fortunate than you are.

“That’s what Christmas truly means to me.”

Cabello isn’t alone. Every year, thousands of letters are answered by major corporations, churches and other non profits as well as postal employees who often know the children writing to the North Pole because they live along the postal workers’ routes.

This year, the Los Angeles facility that processes mail for the entire Westside, including Santa Monica, received more than 3,000 letters addressed to Santa’s workshop. “We’ve been doing this for over 50 years,” said Larry Dozier, a spokesman for the Postal Service. “It’s a longstanding tradition to fulfill these children’s wishes.”

Despite what people may think after watching films such as “Miracle of 34th Street,” the Postal Service does not just sit on Santa’s letters.

“We try to distribute as many as we can to those who are interested in helping out,” Dozier said.

So what happens to all the missives full of hope and wishes that do not make their way into the hands of a giving individual?

At least some of them have become part of a project called Arctic Phenomenon, designed by the University of Lapland to study the letters written to Santa. Some are saved for posterity, like the letter written on birch bark by two Polish schoolboys that is now proudly displayed in the wall of the Santa Claus Main Post Office, located on the Arctic Circle in Lapland.

Of course, most of the letters written to Santa are wish lists itemizing the gifts the writer would love to find under their tree on Christmas morning.

There are exceptions, however. Many people write simply to wish Santa well. And some write for other reasons. One couple wrote wishing Santa would respond so they could tell their unborn baby that Santa really existed. Others discuss their hopes and fears. Some bring tears to the eye, like the one from a homeless 7-year-old who wanted nothing for himself, just diapers for his infant sister.

“Some of the letters just really tug at your heart strings,”Cabello said.“A lot of them are asking for the bare necessities. I had a child write that they didn’t need any toys and had-n’t asked for anything from Santa except a coat because it was cold. Both his parents had just lost their jobs.”

While it is too late to give gifts this year, those interested should contact their local post office next year, Dozier said.

“We’re here, the letters are here, so come on down and look through them,” Dozier said. “There really is a need.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 25, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/122506.pdf?ref=smdp.com)