replurk 
posted by a friend: for those in the US looking for a way to give gifts to kids/families who might need things for the holidays but don't want to deal with shit like the salvation army: the usps is doing their yearly letters to santa drive - you "adopt" a letter and send them the gifts they request
this is a great secular alternative!
I just learned about it just now when it was plurked about and thought it would be good to spread
i'll add in the note about what i just found out here too: if you're homebound/unable to/just don't want the stress of shopping and shipping gifts, USPS has a Toys R Us storefront connected to the program that you can order from and it will ship directly from them to the kid's home; it's an option you can pick after you "adopt" a letter.
oh, even just reading the letters is delightful. 
what a wonderful charity function
what a wonderful charity function