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Newtown post office flooded with condolences

Newtown, Conn.'s post office has been receiving a deluge of letters, cards, care packages and drawings from around the world in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

In the wake of the tragic school shootings in Newtown, Conn., one place has become headquarters for the love and outpouring of condolences headed to that quaint New England town from around the world: the Newtown, Conn., post office.

Workers there have been taking phone calls all day today (Dec. 17) answering questions from people all over the U.S. who want to send their thoughts and prayers in the form of letters, cards, care packages and drawings from their children. Without specific names and addresses to mail to, many were calling to find out where to send those letters.

In response, the U.S. Post Office has set up a post-office box dedicated to just that need, said Maureen Marion, manager of corporate communications for northeast area for the USPS.

Marion said she expects the deluge of mail to begin arriving later today and to continue for the foreseeable future.聽

鈥淭he phone has been ringing nonstop with people calling to ask how they can send things,鈥� Marion told BusinessNewsDaily, adding that a "cascade of written materials" is expected.

To help the small post office deal with the crush of mail, the USPS has set up the following mailing address for all mail and packages intended for the families of shooting victims, first responders and Newtown residents affected by the聽

PO Box 3700, Newtown, CT, 06470

Marion said the dedicated post-office box will help Newtown鈥檚 post-office staff handle the enormous amount of mail they are expecting.

From there, the USPS will work with local community groups to help distribute the mail. 聽

鈥淲e鈥檙e in the beginning stages of getting it to the right people,鈥� Marion said. They will also make sure that the mail is monitored to ensure families only receive what is appropriate and aren鈥檛 exposed to anything 鈥渁 family member doesn鈥檛 need to see,鈥� Marion said.

鈥淲e鈥檒l be working with town leaders to establish a venue to handle everything accordingly,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur job is to be the funnel.鈥�

Mail sent directly to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where the shootings took place, will be delivered directly to the school, Marion said.

鈥楲ove through the mail鈥�

Marion said this is not the first time in her job that she has seen a big influx of mail as a result of a tragedy.

鈥淓ven in very recent history, we鈥檝e seen an enormous outpouring of support for聽,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur communities are very generous in this part of the country. They are very kind and focused on helping families.鈥�

Still, last week鈥檚 terrible shootings, which have triggered an outpouring of emotions from people around the world,聽may bring in even more mail.

鈥淚t鈥檚 my expectation that we are going to see an enormous amount of love coming through the mail,鈥� Marion said.

She expects there will be letters from children and schools, and encourages people to send their wishes via the mail so they can be saved and reread later.

鈥淏ecause they are written, families and first responders will be able to enjoy them and reread them over and over in a time and place that鈥檚 good for them. That鈥檚 the beauty of our job. We are here to deliver that love," Marion said.

Busiest time of year

This is already the busiest time of the year for the USPS and the extra mail will be a challenge for postal workers. Marion said they are up for the challenge, however.

鈥淭his is our peak season to begin with,鈥� Marion said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e already at capacity.鈥�

She said the USPS will send extra workers to Newtown鈥檚 post office if necessary.

鈥淲e鈥檙e prepared to give them whatever they need,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is an exceptional moment in time and we are prepared to do exceptional things.鈥�