the metta movement

giving without expectation

At lululemon athletica, sustainability is about more than working to reduce our organization's impact on the environment. It's also about creating a positive impact within our global communities. One way we do that is through the mettā movement - our grassroots community philanthropy program. Each year we provide funds to our stores, our area managers, our Store Support Centre (SSC) employees and select suppliers and ambassadors to launch or support projects that contribute to social and environmental health.

In yoga, mettā is the practice of generating love and happiness for others. It is deeply rooted in the belief of giving without expectation, and is a critical step on the path to personal growth. Through the mettā movement, we create opportunities for our employees, ambassadors and suppliers to identify needs in their communities and actively address those needs by working with best-in-class organizations. By supporting their efforts, we create positive social and environmental change in our communities and develop leaders who are prepared to tackle some of society's big challenges. It's about creating a mettā movement.

getting involved

The five types of mettā grants we have available are through our stores, regional areas, SSC employees, ambassadors and suppliers. If you have a project, an event, an idea or a dream of contributing to social and environmental health, you're a mettā grant candidate. Amazing, right?

Our store, area and ambassador mettā grants all begin with a conversation at your local store. Drop by and find out what your closest lululemon is up to with the mettā movement for 2013. We would love to talk about how we can support your project. Here are some examples of projects we've supported in the past:

  • A store supported "Go Vibrant" a non-profit organization in Cincinatti with a mission to make healthy living easier in the city. Store mettā funds went toward putting in a walking/running route through the neighbourhood, and throwing an awareness party/friend-raiser with an inaugural walk/run.
  • The entire Central West region completed a Habitat for Humanity build day within their respective cities. Stores also donated funds to their local chapter and gave the gift of vision and goals coaching to the Habitat for Humanity homeowners, staff and/or AmeriCorps members.
  • A Chicago-area store created a mini-documentary for the Heartwood Foundation Women in Cancer Program. Heartwood provides free acupuncture, yoga, tai chi, massage, and counseling to women who are receiving cancer treatment. The mettā funds paid for the documentary director and film crew, and the goal is to use the film to raise $100k for the organization over two years.
  • The 75th & Broadway store in NYC organized "Run for Relief" – for every mile their run club and community ran, they donated a dollar to Hurricane Sandy relief.
  • Our Community Sustainability team worked with a manufacturing partner in Cambodia to fund Room to Read initiatives in their area. Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to provide quality educational opportunities by establishing libraries, creating local language children's literature, constructing schools, providing education to girls and establishing computer labs.
  • In Vancouver (our hometown) we worked with Girlvana, an organization that supports healthy bodies through introducing yoga to teen girls. Mettā funds supported scholarships to a yoga retreat and materials to ensure the success of the program.

If you live in Vancouver or one of our supplier communities, you can get in touch with the Community Sustainability team via email to apply. Submit an application form and get creative by attaching a short video, presentation or art piece between April 1st, 2013 and July 1st, 2013 to mettamovement@lululemon.com. Projects will be selected by August 1st, 2013, and grant recipients will be notified shortly thereafter. Include "hometown metta" or "supplier metta" in the subject line and make sure to put a company reference if you have one.