The Postal Service is continuing to mark big milestones this holiday season.
On Dec. 6, the organization delivered the 4 billionth peak season mailpiece in Haverford, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia.
Linda Butts, a local letter carrier, handed the milestone package to customer Maria Rico outside her front door.
“Four billion? This is remarkable,” said Rico. “[USPS deliveries] bring joy to so many families.”
Three days later, USPS delivered the 5 billionth mailpiece of the season in Noel, MO, which changes its name to Noël every December.
Postmaster Patricia Coggin delivered the package to Kathy Ramirez at a business across the street from the Post Office. Ramirez says she will wait until Christmas to open it.
“I’m excited … because I really don’t know what it is,” she said. “It’s a blessing. Honestly, it really is. And it’s awesome to know that they do so much work [at the Postal Service]. They work their butts off.”
For Coggin, it was fitting for Noël, known as “Christmas City,” to be the setting of the 5 billionth delivery.
“It was thrilling to be part of something this special,” she said. “It was amazing.”
The milestones continued Dec. 12, when Adelio Gallucci, a New Haven, CT, letter carrier, delivered the 6 billionth mailpiece to a local Habitat for Humanity office, followed by the 7 billionth mailpiece, which Evelyn Pessoa, a Commerce City, CO, letter carrier, delivered to a residential customer on Dec. 17.
The next day, Ruben De La Garza, a San Antonio letter carrier, delivered the 8 billionth mailpiece in Windcrest, TX.
The 9 billionth holiday mailpiece is expected to be delivered in Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 23.
The Postal Service will continue to mark milestone deliveries throughout its peak season, which runs from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.
The organization’s online Holiday Newsroom features a real-time counter that shows how many mailpieces and packages have been accepted.