Making a Big Difference, Five Pounds at a Time: Luxury Link Partners with Pack for a Purpose®

LOS ANGELES, March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Luxury Link (www.luxurylink.com), the leading luxury travel website, has partnered with non profit organization Pack for a Purpose to encourage travelers visiting places such as St. Lucia or Nicaragua to reserve five pounds of space in their luggage for items needed in schools and clinics near their destination.

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As the non-profit's only luxury travel partner, Luxury Link is working with its hotel partners in destinations from Africa to Asia and the Caribbean to South America to promote the program and encourage travelers to set aside a few non-essential items in their luggage and use the space for needed medical, school or anti-poaching supplies. The hotels facilitate the donations by delivering the supplies directly to the organization or arranging for the guest to visit the donation location.

"Leaving one pair of shoes at home lets you bring 150 pencils or four solar calculators," said Pack for a Purpose founder, Rebecca Rothney. "Five pounds equals a stethoscope, a blood pressure cuff and 500 band-aids; or five deflated soccer balls with an inflation device; or 400 pencils. Five pounds can make a big impact to a community."

Beginning May 17, Luxury Link will launch a series of 40 special travel auctions with a portion of the proceeds donated to Pack for a Purpose. There will be 10 special travel auctions per week, two per weekday with each auction running five days. Travelers can snag vacations to five-star properties around the world while saving up to 65 percent off published rates. The promotion culminates with a sweepstakes in July.

"Anyone and everyone can do it. Taking much needed supplies to a destination makes travel even more meaningful," said Diane McDavitt, Luxury Link Travel Group's president and co-founder.

In 2002, Rothney visited Botswana with requested school supplies to donate to the local community. This sparked her idea for the non-profit organization Pack for a Purpose which has now delivered more than 4,700 pounds of items worldwide.

About Luxury Link:

Luxury Link (www.luxurylink.com) is a luxury travel website offering value-added, immersive experiences at five-star accommodations around the world at insider prices. Luxury Link features luxury vacation experiences from nearly 1,200 luxury and five-star hotels in more than 60 countries. For 15 years, the trusted luxury hotel experts at Luxury Link have worked directly with the world's top properties to create premium, hand-picked travel experiences that include extra surprises to make each trip even more memorable.  The company is privately owned and managed by e-commerce and online travel veterans, with offices in Los Angeles and New York. To follow: facebook.com/LuxuryLink and @LuxuryLink.

About Pack for a Purpose:

Pack for a Purpose® is a Raleigh, NC, based nonprofit that supports over 225 community-based programs in 37 countries. Travelers use their luggage to take school, medical and other supplies to the communities they visit. For more information about travel locations, lists of needed supplies and ways to get involved, visit www.packforapurpose.org. To follow please visit facebook.com/PackforaPurpose and @PackforaPurpose.

SOURCE Luxury Link