Santa’s Lancaster Elf Is Writing Letters In Braille To Blind Children

SOUTHEASTERN PA — Santa’s elf, Erika Rothermel, spends her days typing letters in braille, responding to blind children writing to Santa.

“The children usually write about how good they have been and they deserve a toy,” Rothermel said. “They get a chance to practice braille. The letters are coming in. I can’t wait to read them.”

Helping children who are blind and visually impaired is a calling for Rothermel, who developed a passion while studying to be a teacher at Kutztown University.

Rothermel said her roommate was visually impaired, which inspired her to take classes in braille, earning a bachelor's of science degree in special education for the visually impaired and elementary education.

She landed a job at Vision Corps, a nonprofit, focusing on empowering people with vision loss.

On a recent afternoon, Rothermel said that she loves getting letters from the children writing to Santa because the children are learning to communicate with others.

“We want the children to send letters to Santa all season,” she said.

Reading the letters warms her heart, knowing that the children are learning. The braille system involves typing six keys with dots to form words.

“It involves a lot of memorizing,” she said. “The goal is to practice braille and be inclusive.”

The 29-year-old teacher works at the nonprofit, VisonCorps, teaching blind and visually impaired children under age 5 how to communicate using braille.

The nonprofit serves Chester, Lancaster, Adams, Lebanon and York counties.

“We want to help people become independent,” she said, noting that many visually impaired people are independent.

Santa’s elf is working today through the holiday season to respond to all of the letters.

Letters can be mailed to this address:

Letters to Santa (Erika Rothermel, head elf)

VisionCorps
244 N. Queen St.
Lancaster, PA. 17603