Real-Life Santa Claus Gives Strangers Flights Home for the Holidays!

Ellen's Good News

Holiday travel is not only exhausting - it's expensive. One do-gooder with frequent flyer miles to spare is helping those who need help going home for Christmas.

Entrepreneur Peter Shankman is giving away 25 round-trip flights for the holidays by using his frequent flyer miles. Shankman is the creator of Help a Reporter Out, a service that puts sources in touch with reporters. He's also the author of three books and the Founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, a social media, marketing and PR strategy firm.

His consulting work, speaking engagements and book tours have him flying nationally and internationally, roughly 250,000 miles per year! The frequent flyer miles quickly add up.

"I live on a plane," he tells ABC News. "The last thing I want to do over the holidays is travel somewhere."

This is the second year in a row he's been able to give strangers the gift of going home for the holidays. Last year he gave four people flights, including a mom who hadn't seen her military son in two years, and a father who was unable to see his son with Asperger's, due to medical bills piling up.

This year, Shankman is going bigger and better, thanks to the generosity of anonymous donors and companies. JetBlue heard about his good deeds and announced that they were donating 10 flights. Car service GroundLink is donating 10 rides to the airport, and TripIt is donating a three-month pro package to all the winners!

Shankman will choose winners through a contest that ends Sunday December 8.

"I'm a fortunate person to be able to do this," he says. "It's the perfect example of how social media can be used for taking a good deed and turning it into something even better."

If you'd like to send your story to Shankman and enter to win a trip to see your family for the holidays, go here. Good luck!

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