Store owner replies to every letter to Santa sent by children in his city

Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan
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Aleem Chaudhry, the owner of Gino's Stop-N-Buy deli situated in San Antonio provides his customers with yummy sandwiches. But he's got another special gift that makes him a godsend when Christmas arrives.

placard announcing hero of kindness


Every year, Aleem puts up a bright red mailbox at his deli. This mailbox, meant exclusively for 'letters to the North Pole' - initially placed as a fun Christmas decoration - took a funny turn when young children started to actually drop off letters meant for Santa Claus. The letters would be filled with requests for gifts, often. Most kids would also chat with Santa Claus and ask questions like what elves wear and how his reindeers fly.

Cute, yes. But it's what happens next that makes Aleem a human gem. You see, he makes sure every child gets a response. 

In a single year, Aleem Chaudhry received, read and wrote back to over 400 children's letters. 

spectacled man in a deli

And as if that wasn't enough, he followed it up in 2019 by going even bigger, setting up a letter-writing station next to the magical red mailbox filled with marker pens, envelopes and paper so that the young kids who visit his store can write to Santa directly and sometime around Christmas, wake up to 'an actual response' from Santa Claus himself.
You can check out Aleem in action in the video below.



Heroes of Kindness:


Since 2017, every year, I take up the #BlogchatterA2Z & #AtoZChallenge and focus on showcasing lovely real-life heroes from around the world. The aim is to remind you that there is still plenty of good human beings all around you... to inspire you to smile once more.
You can follow my 2020 Edition of Heroes of Kindness here.

Want more stories of compassion? I have Hundreds of 'Heroes of Kindness' to brighten your day here:

2017 edition (Articles - 40, Heroes - 67)
2018 edition (Articles - 34, Heroes - 52)
2019 edition (Articles - 31, Heroes - 42)


Heroes of Kindness - Indian edition
Heroes of Kindness - My Interviews



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28Comments

Let me know what you think.

  1. aww isn't that a great deed. He is a real life hero keeping the magic of Santa alive and hopes of kids alive! Great to know about him!

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  2. I was looking forward to your posts. You never disappoint with your kindness post. In these difficult times we need people like Aleem to spread joy. Waiting for more such amazing posts.
    https://trinalooksback.com/2020/04/01/anxiety-anger-and-alienation/

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    1. Thanks. Hope to keep the spirits up throughout April

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  3. What a fantastic idea and love how Aleem is executing this simple yet such a beautiful initiative and keeping the magic of Santa alive!!

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    1. I know. Something that we can easily emulate with so many festivals at our disposal in India, I feel

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  4. How awesome. That is a true hero. What a great idea. And thanks for sharing. I am looking forward to your posts.

    Suzy Someday Somewhere Letter A

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    1. Thanks. Loved your first post. Pertinent to the world we are in today

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  5. Hello Dr. Roshan! I am reading your blogs from last few years. And I really enjoy your positive posts. Alden's story is an inspiring one. Will be back again here for some more positive vibes. 🙂

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  6. What a sweet gesture indeed! He really is Santa reincarnated :)

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    1. In such a simple way, he becomes Santa Claus for so many, right

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  7. Wow, what a good man. How happy the kids would be on receiving letters from their Santa.

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  8. That is such a sweet thing to do. It must take so much effort to write a personalised reply to each kid. A real hero.

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  9. Simple acts of kindness like this will sure fill the hearts of the children with hope. I am sure it has a potential to trigger a chain reaction of kindness.
    More power to Santa Aleem

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  10. A few days back I went to a kids birthday party. After the thing ended, a 4-year old was sobbing, waiting for his mother to come pick him up. I tried to distract him by just talking to him. After a few minutes his mother came and he bid me goodbye with the tightest hug!
    Kids do understand kindness and respond to it in their own ways. This guy is doing the sweetest thing!

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  11. Sometimes it really takes so little to make people happy.

    @JazzFeathers
    The Old Shelter - Living the Twenties

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  12. That's utterly amazing. But my daughter also wrote to Santa and got a letter from him ( from Finland). This proved that if you have faith you can make things happen. Aleem's gesture is heartwarming. I admire you for looking for goodness and coming up with wonderful real life stories day after day. Truly you are an inspiration to us all

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  13. Kudos to you for the kind of work you do and kindness you keep spreading. I look forward to A2Z every year to read your posts and I'm going to follow all of them throughout the month.

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  14. Thats so sweet of him to respond to all the children. Very nice gesture.

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  15. That is indeed a very nice gesture from Aleem and how thrilling for the kids! A reply from Santa to their letters! Wow!

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  16. Wow! Aleem's actually Santa Claus! <3 Isn't it?

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  17. What a sweet thing for him to do. I'm sure it makes for many happy children at Christmas. Weekends In Maine

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  18. Such a wonderful thing to do, bringing so much joy into the world. I can only imagine how those supplies next to the postbox are used - marker pens FTW. Made me smile so much. Best wishes for the AtoZ.
    Tasha 💖
    Virginia's Parlour - The Manor (Adult concepts - nothing explicit in posts)
    Tasha's Thinkings - Vampire Drabbles

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  19. Wow! Some people do go out of their way and invest time and energy in making others happy. Another wonderful post Roshan

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  20. What a heartfelt gesture and can be done only by someone who truly understands what a child feels by retaining this belief of Santa. God bless Mr Choudhary.

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  21. Aww, what a kind thing to do. This is so heartwarming.

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