By John McDevitt

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – You can make the holiday season a bit happier for those in need and become a hero by granting a wish.

This time every year the number of wishes double on WishUponAHero.com. There are approximately 14,000 active requests from people who need help. Dave Girgenti of Voorhees started the site in 2007.

“Whether it’s a family or someone who needs food or you know a family who has things on layaway. So, we started this whole program called ‘Layaway Wishes’ and if you are somebody who wants to make someone’s Christmas a little brighter, grant a wish. You could search them down to location, area — you know exactly who you are helping.”

And there are wishes from victims of Superstorm Sandy.

“They needed everything from basic needs — clothes and food — to, you know, washers and dryers that were destroyed and some people lost their entire house. We are even working on a few house wishes now.”

He says there are about 2000 holiday related wishes.

“And we have a whole system that ranks out all of the heroes and you can see who is doing the helping and it’s a fun way to encourage people to help others.”

More information at WishUponAHero.com.