Rebuilding Affrilachia

                                                                                                              
       
                                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                    HOOD HUGGERS
                                                                        REBUILDING AFFRILACHIA

Hood Huggers International is raising funds to purchase a new bus for Hood Tours and repair our current van. We hope you’ll help us reach our goal with a contribution – be an integral part of helping us Rebuild Affrilachia!  

Hood Huggers International was founded by DeWayne Barton. A native of Asheville, NC, Barton grew up in Washington, D.C. and is a Gulf War Veteran. He is the author of two books of poetry and has been involved in community improvement and youth development for over 20 years. Barton is co-founder of the Burton Street Community Peace Gardens and Green Opportunities. He is a RWJF Culture of Health Leader and serves on the Asheville-Buncombe African American Heritage Commission. 

Hood Tours was launched in 2015 as the social enterprise arm of Hood Huggers International. Our critically acclaimed tours  highlight the past, present, and future of African Americans in Asheville, while promoting black businesses, artists, and grassroots organizations and providing opportunities for youth. A portion of the revenue for each tour is devoted to supporting key initiatives in the very neighborhoods the tours visit!

We are proud that Hood Tours consistently receives 5-star reviews on TripAdvisor, and has been
featured in a number of media outlets including Mountain Xpress, Asheville Citizen-Times, The
Laurel of Asheville, Bold Life Magazine, Our State Magazine, Official Asheville Guide with Explore Asheville, Forbes Travel magazine and C-SPAN.

Hood Tours tells the long-overlooked stories of African Americans in Asheville. We showcase history, art, greenspaces, and current-day grassroots initiatives. We’ve given tours to numerous school groups, university students, and church groups. Approximately 3000 people have taken a Hood Tours and numerous speaking engagements. Hood Tours help build greater communication, connection, and wealth in systematically marginalized neighborhoods. Our impact includes raising awareness and involvement community-wide. It connects the dots between grassroots initiatives and policy.

With a new bus, we will be able to improve the customer comfort and experience of Hood Tours, while increasing the number of tours we are able to offer, enabling us to expand our impact. The feedback on the content of our tours is overwhelmingly positive, however, we are also told that the limitations of our current van detract from the tour. Upgrading our current van will improve the tour experience, while adding additional tour capacity.
 
Hood Huggers is seeking $30,000 to cover purchasing a 2007 GMC Minotour bus and upfitting it for Hood Tours, and for fixing up our current van.  Help us reach our goal and deepen our impact!!!
                                                                                                     
                                                                                           Our Perks!

We truly appreciate your support! When you make a tax-deductible contribution to this campaign, you get the satisfaction of supporting the “Rebuilding of Affrilachia.” In addition, we are offering a number of perks: 

                  
                  $25 contribution............ Certificate for 10% off purchase of Hood Tour tickets!
                  $50 contribution ............T-Shirt or Signed Book (your choice while sizes and supplies last)!
                  $100 contribution...........Sweatshirt or 2 Hood Tour tickets (your choice while supplies last)!
                  $500 contribution........... Group Tour on current Hood Tour Van (up to 9 seats)!
                  $1,000 contribution...........Group Tour on New Hood Tour Bus (up to 14 seats)!
                  $5,000 contribution........Your name/logo posted inside the New Hood Tour Bus as a sponsor!
                  $10,000 contribution.............Full perk package, including all perks listed above!