When Jim Glaub and Dylan Parker moved into a new apartment together in Manhattan, they never expected to receive hundreds of letters addressed to Santa Claus. At first, they thought it might be a joke or a scam. As time went on, the number of letters became overwhelming.
They googled their new address but couldn’t find anything. For whatever reason, these kids thought that Santa lived in New York City. Somehow, they all knew to write to Jim and Dylan’s address. Many children wrote that their parents didn’t have enough money to buy presents. The letters were heartbreaking to read, and it would have been impossible for Jim and Dylan to make every child’s dream come true on their own.
They started a Facebook group and began handing out Santa letters to friends, family, and volunteers who were willing to sponsor a child’s Christmas wish. One of Jim and Dylan’s friends was suspicious that they were falling for some sort of scam.
So, after sending her package of Christmas presents to an address in the Bronx, she hid outside when the UPS truck arrived. Sure enough, children ran out of the house, squealing that Santa had come. Their mother was crying tears of joy. It was all real.
Today, Jim and Dylan have fully embraced this phenomenon by starting a foundation called the Miracle on 22nd Street where anyone can volunteer to answer a child’s Santa letter each Christmas. Writer and comedian Tina Fey was so moved by this story that she is already working on a movie about it.
