A number of young business leaders nationwide have found success by blending their entrepreneurial skills with philanthropic interests. The trend has attracted so much attention the Wall Street Journal recently profiled three such "philanthropreneurs" who say they want to break down traditional barriers to doing good while doing well.

Darrell Hammond, 27, grew up in an orphanage and struggled with dyslexia. After graduating college he vowed to make sure other children could have happier childhoods, so he set about building playgrounds in inner cities nationwide.

KaBoom, his nonprofit company, will build 70 playgrounds this year worth an estimated $50,000 each. Hammond uses corporate sponsorships, equipment donations and corporate employee-volunteer efforts to raise funds, clear lots and build the playgrounds.

KaBoom will have completed a total of 200 playgrounds by the end of 1999 and now has 18 employees and a $4 million budget.

Clara Conti, 37, founded Aurora Enterprise Solutions, which produces secure software systems for patient health records.

Conti told the Journal she got the idea after helping the Red Cross set up a blood database. Her firm now has annual revenues of $4 million and gives 10 percent of pretax profits to charity. She also encourages her staff to undertake volunteer activities.

Andrew Carroll, 29, launched the nonprofit American Poetry & Literacy Project with Joseph Brodsky after meeting the now-deceased U.S. poet laureate as an undergraduate.

The project distributes free books of poetry to people in subways, hospitals, and public spaces. Rather than going to traditional funding sources, Carroll decided to approach the marketing departments of various companies and found great success.

Ryder Truck Rental cosponsored a national tour where Carroll handed out anthologies from the back of one of their trucks. Volkswagen is the latest company to step forward by putting a copy of the anthology in the glove compartment of every vehicle it sell this month.