Santa’s helpers are hard at work this year, particularly in Mendota, CA, where a postal worker found one young boy’s letter to Santa asking that he and other impoverished children not be forgotten.  A Fresno Bee article about kid’s letters to St. Nick alerted readers to 12-year-old Cesar’s endearing request and responded with a deluge of gifts and inquires about how they could help the boy and children like him.

“Por favor, Santa Claus a cuerdate mi como de otres ninos que necesitan” — Please Santa Claus remember me and the other children in need.

This heart-melting tale is especially bittersweet at a time when financial hardships are felt all over, and Cesar’s hometown is no exception:

Mendota’s jobless rate has been estimated at 40 percent. Two hundred people in the town with one stoplight lost their jobs when the Spreckels sugar plant closed in September. Beset by drought and water rationing, farm jobs have eroded as environmentally damaged farmland in western Fresno County is retired.

takepart by learning how you can help children in need this holiday season.

Photo:  Onion’s Flickr Photostream (Creative Commons)