Miracle on 22nd Street. 450 Letters to Santa Arrived At Their Apartment.
By: Linda Caroll
Tags: Joy, Culture, Love, Christmas, Inspiration

When Dylan and Jim rented their apartment on West 22nd Street, the previous tenant told them they might get a few letters to Santa.

They smiled and forgot about it. Until the letters started showing up in October. A handful here, a handful there.

photo credit: Miracle on 22nd Street

Every day, when they’d check the mail — more letters. All of them addressed to Santa Claus, West 22nd Street, New York, NY.

They didn’t know how all those people were getting their address, or why they were sending letters to Santa to an apartment in New York. They started bundling them up… but they kept on arriving. Every day — more letters.

photo credit: Miracle on 22nd Street

By the end of November, they had 450 letters to Santa.

They didn’t understand why all those letters were being sent to their New York apartment instead of being sent to the North Pole. But the number of them started to weigh on them.

So they opened a few, hoping to figure out the mystery of why they were being sent to a random apartment in New York.

What they found were letters, mostly from children, but some from parents. Many were in difficult circumstances and hoping Santa would help make their Christmas special.

photo credit: Miracle on 22nd Street

One letter was from a ten year old girl who said her Mom was having a hard time paying the bills this year and asked Santa if he could please bring presents this year so her Mom wouldn’t be sad on Christmas.

Another was from a little boy who said he sleeps on the couch because they can’t afford a bed. He asked Santa for a real bed. Another little boy asked for socks to keep his legs warm. Things most of us take for granted.

photo credit: Miracle on 22nd Street

They weren’t all sad. But the sad ones weighed heavy on their hearts. The more they looked at the pile of letters, the heavier it began to feel. Hundreds of kids. How could they just ignore all these letters?

They decided that they couldn’t. So they started opening all of them. Reading letter after letter. They kept a bundle of letters that they would reply to themselves and started packaging up gifts.

photo credit: Miracle on 22nd Street

But they couldn’t respond to 450 letters all by themselves. It just wasn’t feasible. First, they took duffle bags of letters to work and asked their co-workers if they would pick just one letter and make a wish come true.

Anonymously. From Santa. A lot of people really got into the spirit. They were excited to be able to play Santa and make a child’s dream come true.

photo credit: Miracle on 22nd Street

Next, they posted on Facebook and it went a little viral. People were sharing their request and asking to play Santa along with them. None of the letters were shared publicly. Just the request for help.

Each time someone would volunteer, they’d take a photo of the letter and send it privately. They tracked every letter. Who was buying gifts for who.

photo credit: Miracle on 22nd Street

With the help of family, friends, coworkers, and Facebook friends, they were able to make a lot of dreams come true that first year. Collectively, they provided for 150 letters families that first year.

They took the rest of the letters to the post office, where the remaining letters would be distributed to more people who could help.

That was just the beginning.

photo credit: Miracle on 22nd Street

As the project grew, they made the New York Times. One day, the phone rang and it was Tina Fey. She wanted to make a movie. Not a movie created in Hollywood, but a movie about the Miracle on 22nd Street.

2020 is their 10th anniversary

Since then, the project has grown into a full non-profit organization named Miracle on 22nd Street. Their mission is to unite struggling families with “elves” who can help fulfill their Christmas wishes.

As the non-profit grew, they partnered with companies and organizations that could help individual families and entire communities.

photo credit: Miracle on 22nd Street

“Every Santa Letter is a glimpse into these homes and the deep-rooted issues our country faces every year. I stare directly into the words of these children’s and parents’ handwriting and what’s reflected back is the hardship they face, from the deafening effects of COVID-19, to substance and domestic abuse, to the issues of healthcare and poverty”. — Jim Glaub, Miracle on 22nd Street

photo credit: Miracle on 22nd Street

“I’ve learned a lot about humility and service, and to help when and however you can, even if all I can do is just a little bit. It’s the magic of the North Pole brought to you by way of 22nd street.” — Jim Glaub, Miracle on 22nd Street

video credit: Miracle on 22nd Street

If you happen to look in the mirror and see an elf looking back at you, you can find and join them at https://miracleon22ndstreet.com/#