Alexandra Wolfond at a center for disabled children in Ho Chi Minh City (New York Times photo)

From the New York Times:

Doing charity work while on vacation no longer has to mean backbreaking labor and dorm-like accommodations. A new kind of philanthropic travel lets wealthy vacationers do good works while still enjoying plush hotel suites and fine restaurants.

Artisans of Leisure, based in New York, organized a seven-day trip to Paris and Morocco for the end of this month for Rhonda Wolfond and her teenage daughter Alexandra that will cost $50,000. For three days, the two will travel to local orphanages to interact with the children and to deliver needed supplies.

Ms. Wolfond, who lives in Toronto, takes three or four such trips each year with her daughter. Ultimately, she said, she spends several thousand dollars per trip on supplies for local orphanages and centers for people with disabilities.

“My daughter needs to see more than the luxury side of the world,” Ms. Wolfond said. “I want her to experience life as it really is and see that she can make a difference.”

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