Packing It In For Charity

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Feeling a little guilty about that $5,000 you shelled out for a vacation in impoverished Belize? Playa Vista travel company Luxury Link has a way to relieve your conscience.

For the amount of space it would take to pack those $695 Christian Louboutin shoes or a $1,500 Armani jacket, you can carry something to donate.

Luxury Link, an online travel services company that auctions discounted upscale vacation packages, is working with Raleigh, N.C., non-profit Pack for a Purpose, which has partners in 38 countries to distribute humanitarian goods.

Diane McDavitt, president of Luxury Link, said that her company was eager to help after the non-profit’s founder, Rebecca Rothney, cold-called them last month.

“There’s a real opportunity for us to raise awareness and help,” McDavitt said.

The Luxury Link website indicates whether a traveler is headed to a Pack for a Purpose destination, and clicking on a link shows the types of supplies that might be needed.

If you’re heading to the Lodge at Chaa Creek in Belize, bring some flashlights and water bottles, but if you’re going to Kanana Mokoro Trail in Botswana, the preference is for pencils and rulers for school kids. Travelers give the supplies to their hotels, cruise lines or tour operators, which arrange delivery.

“Hopefully it’s not the last thing they do,” said Rothney. “We would like this to be the starting point for people to express their generosity, if they are able to.”

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