Recent graduate donates $20K worth of frequent flyer miles to Eckerd Kids

(CLEARWATER, FLORIDA) Eckerd Kids announced today that Ryan Pickren has donated one million United

Airlines frequent flyer miles to their organization. In an effort to support his local community and provide continued support to a favorite Pickren family community partner, Ryan Pickren made his donation valued at $20,000 to Eckerd Kids, a non-profit organization that ensures each child and young adult has the opportunity to

Ryan Pickren describes his decision to donate:

“Although Eckerd Kids was not on the list of charities that United Airlines donates to, I worked hard to get them added. I’ve known Mr. Dennis for a long time and have enjoyed volunteering for the organization and raising money for them in the past. They do a lot to improve our community and provide kids and families with the second chances that they deserve.” David Dennis, President and CEO of Eckerd Kids, responded to the donation, “We are so grateful to you for all your many years of support of our Vision of ensuring every child and family has an opportunity to succeed.”

 

About Ryan

Ryan Pickren grew up in Clearwater, Florida and attended Berkeley Preparatory School. He graduated in 2017 with a degree in Computer ]Engineering from Georgia Tech in Atlanta. He first made headlines in 2014 when he was arrested for computer trespassing charges after hacking into the University of Georgia’s academic calendar as a prank during football season. The charges were eventually dropped. Pickren earned the frequent flyer miles by participating in a “bug bounty” program established by United Airlines. He discovered over one hundred vulnerabilities in the company’s website and reported them to the airline in exchange for miles. Over the past year, Ryan Pickren, has accrued over fifteen million miles, breaking the record for the most miles held by an individual.