Bank accepting letters to Santa, paying postage to North Pole

Rabobank North America is helping Santa’s elves by collecting letters to Santa and expediting personalized responses to eager children who drop off their letters in early December.

Rabobank will pay the first-class postage on all letters dropped off at a local branch on or before Dec. 7, and confirm that the letters are directly delivered to Santa’s workshop.

If parents or legal guardians opt to include a complete return address, including the young sender’s name, they can expect to receive a response — postmarked from the North Pole — in the week leading up to Christmas.

Letters without a return address (or dropped off after Dec. 7) are welcome though they’ll likely not receive a response.

They can be dropped off at these local Rabobank branches:

• 190 Main St., Brawley

• 250 Wildcat Drive, Brawley (inside Walmart)

• 1448 W Main St., El Centro

• 2150 Waterman Ave., El Centro (inside Walmart)

• 502 Holt Ave., Holtville

“We want every child in the communities we serve to experience some holiday magic,” said Julie Castle, president and chief banking officer of Rabobank, N.A. “Our employees are proud to give ‘Team Santa’ a hand by ensuring that kids’ carefully written letters arrive at Santa’s workshop on time.”