SANTA'S LETTERS GET ANSWERED; VOLUNTEERS RESPOND AS PLEAS ARRIVE AT POST OFFICE NORTH POLE.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

The North Pole is a busy place this time of year, and for the volunteers who take on the task of helping Santa, the task is overwhelming.

So as letters to Santa come in to the U.S. Postal Service's Santa Clarita Processing and Distribution Center, so do the volunteers. They open each envelope, read a young one's desire and pick out those who are truly needy, hoping to make a Christmas wish come true.

``It's very difficult,'' said Dianne Merryl, 46, of Encino, who drove more than 30 miles hoping to adopt a few families. ``It's hard to keep the tears from coming out. It's very touching.''

In the end, Merryl left with four letters naming the families she was hoping to help - the families who, through a letter to Santa, had touched her heart.

``I think this is what Christmas is all about,'' Merryl said. ``Everyone should do this.''

Merryl was one of dozens of volunteers who take time out of their busy schedules to donate their time. They gather in a cramped, cordoned-off area at the processing and distribution center that doubles as the North Pole during the holiday season.

While some letters - approximately 50 - trickle in all year long, about 10,000 are received between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Although more volunteers are always needed, those who show up to Santa Central are a welcome sight.

``It renews my spirit of the season and of people,'' said Stacia Crane, a manager of consumer affairs and claims who heads the program and volunteer effort. ``This assures children that life is good and that there are people who can give and want nothing in return.''

``Hopefully, what we do today will have an impact on tomorrow,'' Crane added. ``These kids will be leading us tomorrow, you want them to have some spirit.''

While most kids ask for toys and games, the ones the volunteers seek out to adopt are the ones who ask for food and clothing or help for someone else.

Letters come from parents, teachers and especially children.

Erica Meadows, 44, of Woodland Hills heard about the program through a friend who had adopted eight families last year and this year is adopting 10.

``I spoke to my children and we wanted to do this as a family,'' said Meadows, who has a 19-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter. ``We're a very fortunate family, we wouldn't mind helping someone who's not so fortunate.''

After choosing her four families to adopt, Meadows is planning on visiting each of them to determine their highest priority. She will then return with the presents they requested and other items they may need.

Meadows said that she was touched after reading letters her friend had chosen last year, including a request from a sister who wanted pants for her brother and another family who wanted nothing more than socks and fresh fruit.

``How can you turn them down,'' Meadows said. ``These are things they really need.''

Many of the volunteers who come into Santa Central are off-duty postal employees who select letters as a group and donate to needy families.

``You have to read it from the heart,'' said postal employee Jane Jones, who volunteered opening letters for the first time this year and wiped away tears as she began to read a letter.

``They're not asking for toys. They're asking for dishes and clothes and blankets,'' she said.

Other needy letters are answered by members of the area Rotary, Jaycees and Kiwanis clubs. ``It's a wonderful thing that they are doing,'' said 73-year-old Sydelle Bloch, a volunteer who said that she heard of the program at a Hanukkah party. ``Outreach to others who have less is everyone's responsibility. There's always someone who has less than you.''

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PHOTO (color) Rhea Walco sorts through letters to Santa at the postal center in Valencia to find needy families to aid.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News