Oakland, CA (March 25, 2015) – Bay Area Green Tours (BAGT), in partnership with Youth Impact Hub Oakland (YIHO), an organization providing collaborative workspace for young social innovators, launched an Indiegogo campaign on March 16, 2015 to raise $12,000 to fund a series of unique social entrepreneurship tours for these under-represented youth in the Bay Area.

BAGT’s community-based education campaign was nominated by Project 5, a San Francisco entrepreneurial support agency, to be featured as a model campaign on Indiegogo’s new ‘Changemaker’ community at last week’s South by Southwest Interactive festival. BAGT’s nomination highlights the organization’s unique focus on equitable solutions for social innovation and sustainability in the Bay Area. They are currently listed as a trending campaign under the “Education” section of Indiegogo’s website.

BAGT plans to offer interactive experiential tours of inspiring social enterprises throughout the Bay Area. Youth Hub Fellows are under-resourced young social entrepreneurs who are hand-picked for a year-long curriculum of intensive training and mentorship. These tours will enable participants to: See first hand how local entrepreneurs are engaging in sustainable and just business practices; Interact with socially aware business leaders and ask them specific questions relating to their own projects; Network to form new connections, internships and possible partnerships with local change agents; and discover a variety of enterprises that are making positive social and environmental impact on the community.

In addition to BAGT’s distinct social entrepreneurship tours, Indiegogo campaign funds will contribute to an eco-agricultural retreat at the Sabor Mexicano organic farm in the Sonoma County. With sufficient funding, Youth Hub Fellows will engage with the farm proprietor and Cancun restaurant owner, Jorge Saldana, a third generation Mexican American who built a trio of successful restaurants in the Bay Area from scratch. The retreat will allow students to break out of their urban environment while directly engaging in leadership development activities.

According to Marissa LaMagna, BAGT’s executive director, the mission of the project is to “cultivate successful future community leaders so that historically excluded, disadvantaged young people can fully participate in the more just and equitable economy that is emerging.” This campaign’s mission goes beyond the local community and was featured as a national story in the Huffington Post’s Icon Next section, representing an educational model for other inner-city youth organizations battling poverty and inequality.

About Bay Area Green Tours

Bay Area Green Tours (BAGT) is 501(c)3 organization, producing educational tours and events that demonstrate the sustainable economy in action, inspire support of local green businesses, and empower people to incorporate environmental responsibility and social justice into their personal and professional lives. Tour topics range from Green Architecture/Building, Green Collar Jobs, Zero Waste, Renewable Energy, Alternative Transportation, Water Sustainability, Shared Solutions to a new focus on Agro-tourism and Social Entrepreneurship.  BAGT is continually expanding its tour portfolio. To learn more and to schedule or design a tour, call 510-517-6403 or visit our website.

Media Contact: Marissa LaMagna
Marissa@bayareagreentours.org
(510) 517-6403