LETTERS ADDRESSED TO SANTA FALL INTO HELPFUL HANDS.

Byline: CONNIE LLANOS  Staff Writer

It's been tough for Destiny's mother since she left an abusive husband to raise four kids on her own.

Eleven-year-old Destiny explains in a letter to Santa Claus that she tries to be good, do well in school and help her mom, who works two jobs.

But money is tight, so Santa's pretty much the only one who can help this Christmas, the girl writes in a touching letter read Tuesday in Valencia by volunteers hoping to make holiday wishes come true for children from low-income families.

Destiny's compelling letter is among the more than 30,000 that L.A.-area post offices will receive this holiday season -- almost 10,000 of which the Santa Clarita Valley distribution center will handle.

Wednesday morning, volunteers at the Santa Clarita center -- which handles local mail as well as that from the San Fernando Valley and beyond -- began opening letters addressed to Santa Claus sent via U.S. mail. The goal is for volunteers, charitable organizations and others to fulfill as many holiday wishes as possible for children whose families can't afford to pile gifts under the Christmas trees.

``Santa doesn't advertise that he needs help,'' said Stacia Crane, in charge of consumer affairs at the Santa Clarita facility.

Crane said a decades-old tradition of answering letters to Santa continues to receive strong community support.

``This is spreading holiday joy,'' she said.

Renee Sicignano came to pick up letters by the boxful for members of her Valencia church, which answers the notes each year.

``People really want to give during the holiday season,'' Sicignano said.

A mother of two, Sicignano suggested that parents use the letters to teach their children about giving in a season when most kids are concerned only about the gifts they will get.

Thirteen-year-old Austin Gray was one of the youngest volunteers busily working Wednesday morning after his mother dropped him off at the post office. The home-schooled teen was supposed to choose a couple of letters from children who otherwise face bleak holidays.

After reading some of the letters, he reconsidered his holiday request for a new paintball gun.

``It's hard to ask for anything after reading these letters,'' Gray said. ``I still want it, but I just won't ask for it.''

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Photo:

Wednesday, Santa Claus goes through some of the thousands of letters addressed to him that come into the post office at the Santa Clarita Valley distribution center.

David Crane/Staff Photographer