Ryan Pickren Donates Over 1 Million Airline Miles to Guide Dogs of America

Each year, Guide Dogs of America and Tender Loving Canines brings students from all over the US and Canada to a 3-week personalized training program in California. The program helps students who are blind or visually impaired, veterans, and individuals with autism get matched and acquainted with highly-skilled service dogs. These dogs are specially bred and trained to help people with disabilities gain independence and confidence in their daily lives. 

Students of Leader Guide Dogs of America with their new service dogs!

Ryan's donation of over 1 million United Airline miles allowed students (and their dogs!) to travel to their service dog training program at no cost them. In addition, many volunteers and staff of Guide Dogs of America and Tender Loving Canines were able to travel using the airline miles. 

Ryan earned his United Airlines miles by participating in a Bug Bounty program where he reported vulnerabilities in their mobile app to United Airline in exchange for frequent flyer miles. Ryan explained his decision to donate, "My wife and I love spending time with our dog, Beignet. She is definitely not well trained enough to be a service dog, but she  enhances our lives and brings us a lot of joy. I was very excited to find an organization that put my airline miles to good use and I'm happy to know that these individuals were taken good care of as they were traveling to meet their new companions." ​