Yoga Gives Back is blessed to have these leaders in the global yoga community to share our mission and engage their communities to give back as one community.
Kayoko Mitsumatus – Founder of Yoga Gives Back
Yoga Gives Back’s global community of Ambassadors is the key to its grassroots outreach which is now 150 strong in over 20 countries. They are leading YGB’s campaign to engage yoga practitioners to channel their gratitude for the gift of yoga into empowering underserved women and children in India to build a sustainable livelihood.
“We acknowledge and thank four outstanding leaders as Ambassadors of the Year 2024. They demonstrated exceptional dedication and leadership this year to further our mission and fundraise with their communities and beyond. They underscore how YGB Ambassadors lead yoga communities around the world and ignite the power of #OneMillionYogis to give back with gratitude,” expressed Kayoko Mitsumatsu, Yoga Gives Back’s Executive Director.
Donna De Lory, Los Angeles, California
As a successful spiritual music artist, Donna has been supporting YGB’s mission for many years and plays her beautiful music at YGB’s local events. In 2020, during the pandemic, Donna produced a mantra music video, “Sat Siri” with Belinda Carlisle, and gifted it to Yoga Gives Back which helped the first online Gala tremendously. This year, Donna volunteered to offer music sessions at YGB Japan’s Charity Retreat in Nagano to further YGB’s mission.
Erika Hawks, Keywest, Florida
Erika has been hosting a very successful community fundraiser each year at her studio Key West Sanctuary in Florida. Erika has been sharing Seva and Karma yoga with her community for many years. The way her community joins forces to raise funds for YGB’s mission has been inspiring. Erika extends her fundraising efforts from the “Global Gathering for India” campaign in June through the end of August to double the impact of fundraising. Erika will be joining YGB’s Seva Trip 2025 to visit all YGB’s programs in India, where she will see the real impact of her community’s contributions to thousands of lives.
Michiko Minegishi, Yokohama, Japan
Michko is one of the first Japanese Ambassadors who took YGB’s mission to heart and started fundraising as a yoga studio owner and a leader in the yoga-wellness world. Michiko has taken YGB to YogaFest, Asia’s biggest yoga festival, sharing YGB’s mission with Japanese yogis. Michiko also has an extensive network of students throughout Japan and continues to engage them to join YGB’s campaign. Michiko has been supporting and organized Japan Charity Retreat for over a year and volunteers to teach her signature Yoga Bo (Stick) classes amongst her additional offerings.
Sophie Slater, Easton, Connecticut
Sophie played a crucial role in YGB’s evolution as she connected YGB to its NGO partner Deenabandhu in 2010. As a yoga teacher and a YGB volunteer, she took YGB founder Kayoko to visit Deenabandhu Trust, where YGB’s Sister Aid program was born to support destitute and orphaned children. Sophie continues to visit Deenabandhu Home with her children, reigniting her connection to the graduates of the Home with new initiatives. Sophie hosted an inspiring and successful ZOOM fundraiser this June to share her journey with Deenabandhu Trust since 2006 as well as the growth and impact of YGB’s program for the last 14 years. This includes the SHE Scholarship program which funds youths from Deenabandhu Home and the community to achieve college degrees.
