THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT!
Thank you for your support.

12th Annual Gala

Sunday, September 29, 2019 | 5:00pm
Glo Studio
1740 Stanford Street
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Ample Street Parking
Early Bird Ticket – $125.00
Regular Ticket – $ 150.00
Proceeds from this event will help support nearly 1,300 mothers and children through our programs. Yoga Gives Back is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Tax ID: 80-0412545

About

YGB’s Annual Gala is the flagship event of our global fundraising campaign #OneMillionYogis, engaging one million yogis to take part in any way to give back for the gift of yoga we have received. It is a special and intimate gathering of YGB supporters and yoga community influencers to celebrate the year’s accomplishment with a dinner, live entertainment, silent and live auction. All proceeds benefit YGB’s global campaign and programs in India, supporting nearly 1300 mothers, youths and children with micro loans and education funds this year. This annual celebration is generously hosted again by Glo.

Auctioneer Zack Krone
Emcee Felicia Tomasko
Live Music Ashley Wynn and Radhika Vekaria

The YGB Namaste Award

The YGB Namaste Award is a tribute to a visionary who inspire the global yoga community with their vision. In addition, these individuals have committed themselves to humanitarian causes to make this world a better place. We are proud to honor Melissa Berton and The Pad Project Team as the recipients of the 2019 YGB Namaste Award.
Melissa Berton & The Pad Project Team
We are honored to present the 2019 Namaste Award to Melissa Berton & The Pad Project Team. Melissa is an Academy Award-Winning Producer for the Best Documentary Short (2019), PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE. A Los Angeles-based teacher and writer, Melissa has taught English at Oakwood Secondary School in North Hollywood for the past decade. When Melissa and her students served as delegates to the 2013 Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations and learned about the plight of girls in developing countries who drop out of school with the onset of menstruation, they determined to make a difference. They formed The Pad Project nonprofit organization to raise funds to both send a pad-manufacturing machine to a village in India, and to make a film that would document the process. Since the Oscar win for Period. End of Sentence., The Pad Project has received thousands of letters and emails from individuals and organizations from 94 countries from every continent around the world. The Pad Project’s mission is to create and cultivate local and global partnerships to end period stigma and to empower women worldwide.
Host Committee

Kathryn Budig 
Mallika Chopra
Philip Goldberg
Tara Guber
Jivana Heyman
Gurmukh Khalsa
Melanie Klein
Mandy Ingber
Derik and Lisa Mills
Larry Payne

Steering Committee

Tina Beck 
Emery Bryant
Ligia Floyd
Robert Fogarty
Aya Futami
Anita Hoffman
Bonnie Ikemura
Ayako Matsui
Pritha Ogden
Lisa Revelins
Maria Sanudo
Yuki Saruwatari

Board of Directors

Ken Atchity 
Gail Hedding
Brittny McCarthy
Kayoko Mitsumatsu
Felicia Tomasko

Previous Namaste Award Recipients
Mallika Chopra (2015)
David Lynch (2016)
Alanis Morrisette (2017)
Pemal Shah (2018)
Annual Partners
Silver Sponsor
In Kind
Food & Beverage
Media
Question? Comment? Want to hold a fundraising event?