lululemon ambassadors are always up to amazing things. This October, Ted McDonald is taking a break from teaching yoga and promoting healthy living in Southern California to lead a life-changing trip to Ethiopia with Imagine1Day. The best part? There's an opportunity to be part of Ted's inspirational trip.

building schools & communities

Imagine1Day has a goal of bringing quality elementary school education to every child in Ethiopia. Most of us are familiar with the way in which Habitat for Humanity builds homes for communities in need. Rather than homes, Imagine1Day builds schools in small communities in Ethiopia. Imagine1Day spends three years working within each community to ensure that the programs can be sustainably maintained. They collaborate with the local communities and the Ethiopian government to train teachers and to teach families in the community to run profitable businesses. It's the educational equivalent of "give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you'll feed him for a lifetime."

who's educating whom?

Ted, who's been leading yoga retreats for eight years, has set a vision for this trip to "create a better world". "It's amazing to go to places like this and to meet people who would never imagine to have the kind of infrastructure, amenities, technology and support that we have in the West. Meeting people like that, to me, is one of the greatest ways to open your heart." Ted thinks that the ripple effect will continue long after he gets back State-side (although the focus of Imagine1Day is to create education opportunities in Ethiopia, a large component of their work is dispelling misconceptions about Ethiopia). "If anyone has an interest in elevating their own lives and the lives of others," says Ted, "they should definitely come on this trip."

the trip in a nutshell

get involved

• Contact Imagine1Day & pack your bags. There are spots available on the trip.
  
• Meet some 'creatributors' and see how it all works.
• Help by doing something you love. Become a 'creatributor'.

We held an outdoor yoga class outside our office to welcome Muhammad Ali with sun salutations and warrior poses.

In town promoting a new documentary called Facing Ali, the Greatest himself graced us with his powerful presence at 10:30 am this morning. Through a personal connection with our founder Chip, Muhammad and his wife Lonnie were generous enough to join the SSC, Distribution Centre, Guest Education Centre, and store lululemons for an impromptu visit.

Allison, our elite athlete coordinator (and the author of this post!) relaxing at the SSC while we wait for Muhammad to arrive.

Well, on the grand scale, we believe that receiving confirmation Wednesday afternoon is impromptu. In this short period of time, the company pulled together as a team. In 48 hours we created the ceremony space, had a member of each department and each store honored with a photo op, and even had a Game Over hoodie made for Ali that read "The Greatest" on the back. As I sit here three hours later, I struggle to put the experience in words and the tears keep creeping back up.

We are a company that believes in the greatness of our people, and to have such an amazing person come share an hour with us truly elevated us all to a new level of greatness. The only point of sadness was the inability to have every employee with us in person.

Today was a day full of greatness.

Among many memorable moments, a true highlight for us all was when one of our leaders, Jenna Hills, placed her new son Ryder in Ali’s lap for a photo. Muhammad smiled at the future lululemon-leader and there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd.