Okay, not really, but for some reason, a bunch of kids started mailing their letters to da Claus to Dylan and Jim's address.
"I started telling people about [the letters] and noticed that people wanted to help," he continued. "It inspired me that these letters — all filled with families who just need clothes, shoes, and school supplies — needed our help."
Jim tapped into his connections in the Broadway community, where he works in social media, and the message was spread by word of mouth. Soon, he and his network were buying gifts and needed items for the hundreds who wrote the strange Santa letters.
In 2010, the couple and their network of friends and colleagues were able to fulfill the requests of around 150 of the 450 letters they received. "I was surprised at how many people responded to Jim's call to fulfill the letters," Dylan told BuzzFeed. "I think that suggests we are all looking for that connection to something bigger."
After several years of living at ~Santa's address~ Jim and his now-husband Dylan moved to London. The current tenant forwards the letters to them.
To help fulfill the letter requests, they launched Miracle on 22nd Street Facebook page, which now has more than 4,000 members.
The project has forever changed Jim and Dylan. "I've learned that contributing to something greater than ourselves, even if it is something unknown, leads to far more happiness and sense of purpose than solely focusing on our own desires," Dylan told BuzzFeed.
"[This project] requires that we put ourselves second momentarily to help someone unknown to us, and without the usual gratification of seeing the outcome or receiving thanks. The act of giving itself has to be enough. That is a lesson I now try to remember every day."
