A sweet couple has been helping Santa for 10 years by answering thousands of letters from children in need.
- Jim Glaub and Dylan Parker began receiving letters addressed to Santa Claus in 2010.
- With the help of their friends, the couple has responded to over 2,000 requests from children in need.
- They are working on expanding their touching initiative overseas.
In 2010, Jim Glaub and Dylan Parker began receiving letters addressed to Santa Claus to their ‘Miracle’ 22nd Street apartment in Manhattan, New York. For the last ten years, the pair has responded to over 2,000 touching requests, as Daily Mail reveals. Many of the letters contained heartbreaking pleas for food, warm blankets, and comfy shoes by children whose families could not afford such essentials.
When Jim and Dylan began receiving the notes meant for Father Claus, they had no idea why so many kids had chosen their home address. However, the couple felt compelled to answer the heartfelt requests. But they knew they would not be able to do it on their own, so they began asking friends, relatives, and even online strangers to help them fulfill the Christmas wishes.
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In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Jim, who hopes to expand their kindhearted initiative to the UK, where they currently live, said:
“We have a lot of families that have come out and said we could use a little miracle too, so hopefully soon we will be crossing the pond.”
Interestingly, the couple was warned about the letters before moving into their miracle apartment.
Jim explained that the gentleman who lived there before they moved in told them to expect “only a couple” of letters addressed to Santa.
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But in 2010, the pair was stunned after receiving hundreds of notes and postcards just before the Christmas season.
“In 2010, we got one letter that came in, then a couple more. By the end of November we were at hundreds. In December, it was over 400 – it was quite alarming.”
One significant Christmas party turned Jim and Dylan into Santa’s best helpers.
That year, the couple decided to host a vintage holiday party. Their home was filled with people they loved and letters that needed to be answered. When they told their guests how they had unexpectedly become Santa’s mail receivers, their friends had a wonderful idea. Jim shared:
“People saw a big stack of letters in the front of the room. I told them the story and organically, people said, ‘I’ll take a letter! I’ll take a letter!’ It just sort of snapped, and I thought, ‘Oh, we’re going to get people to fulfill these. People wanted to help’.”
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That’s when the idea of the charity ‘Miracle On 22nd Street’ was born. Over the last 10 years, together with their friends, Jim and Dylan have responded to thousands of letters. The initiative’s website reads:
“Since 2010, It’s been our mission to connect families in need with real-life elves. People from all over the world are stepping up to take a letter and fulfill the wishes of families in NYC and beyond.”
