Each year, hundreds of thousands of children send their Christmas wishes to Santa Claus through the U.S. Postal Service. In some cases, those letters are shared with charitable organizations that help families in need. In 1912, the postal service first allowed individuals and groups to use children’s letters to Santa for philanthropic purposes.

Each year, thousands of letters to Santa are delivered to Santa Claus, Ind., where the town’s post office is the only one in the world that bears the North Pole resident’s name.

The postal service in Canada operates a Santa Letter-writing Program in which 11,000 volunteers answer children’s mail to Saint Nick. Each year, they answer more than 1 million letters from all over the world, responding in English, French and 27 other languages – even Braille.

The Professional Association of Santa’s Elves is a network of people across the country who charge a small fee to write personalized letters to children from Santa Claus. It was founded in 1997 by Gardiner, Maine, native Mary Jewett. Many of its members donate their proceeds to charity.