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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Lifestyle
Richard Luscombe

Wishes come true for trans youth thanks to Transanta donors’ goodwill

a grid of images of handwritten letters
A selection of letters sent to Transanta. Photograph: Transanta

At first glance, they could be letters to Santa Claus from any excited young child, hoping they have been good enough to earn a special gift. Meek is looking forward to hearing sleigh bells: “I think I have tried my best this year. I try to be positive,” they wrote. Alex, meanwhile, would love a bicycle and gift cards to bring some cheer to the end of an “extremely hard year”.

Look a little deeper, and all is not as it seems. The letters are genuine, but their authors are young people who are transgender or non-binary, writing not to the North Pole but to an alternative seasonal benefactor named Transanta, whose workshop exists in cyberspace.

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