Because a vision this bold needs help to come alive!

On Friday, September 18th, Chip and Shannon Wilson graciously opened their home in Vancouver to 99 special guests and created a unique experience to introduce them to the work imagine1day is doing in Ethiopia. With a goal of actively linking our guests to our core mission, and an initial fundraising target of $150,000, the collective community in attendance took things to a whole new level, and humbled us all with their engagement and generosity. When the last guest left the Wilson’s home, imagine1day was the recipient of a staggering $430,000 which will be directed towards its new $3M partnership with Educate A Child – to develop and execute it’s Community Driven Primary Education for All.

 

chip and shannon wilson imagine one day

Guests were treated to a truly unique and interactive experience, beginning with entering the event through an outdoor space that was transformed to look like a typical Ethiopian school, and asked to share their thoughts on “imagine one day a world that is…” The following thoughts were shared, serving as inspiration to everyone at the event, and will no doubt serve as further inspiration for our team as we continue to build and strengthen communities in Ethiopia.

imagine one day a world that is….

“Ethiopia exports education excellence to other countries in the world”

“Each and every child has the freedom to make a choice and boldly go after the life they imagine”

“We can travel a world with no borders and no wars, and children are free and safe with unbound imagination and beauty”

“Every women has an equal chance and opportunity for education”

Guests around tables at imagine1day gala dinner.Musical chairs for a meaningful cause…

Dinner proved to be equally interactive, with guests switching seats after each course to maximize meeting new people. The crowd was engaged and involved from start to finish, actively participating in the highly interactive event program, and listening intently to the short and meaningful speeches that were delivered throughout the evening, including the Wilson children sharing their own personal learnings from visiting our communities in Ethiopia, and what they imagine for Ethiopia in the future.

 

Connecting to our mission…

And finally, dessert brought a fun hands-on activity where each table was their own small community, and together, they built a school. The result was numerous people asking to learn more about imagine1day, and how they can get involved.

imagine1day primary education

 

A special thanks to all of our partnersNicola Wealth Management, Mission Hill Winery and the amazing volunteers who made this evening so incredibly special for our team, for the guests in attendance, and for the children and communities being positively impacted by this very important initiative. And last but certainly not least, we are extremely grateful for Chip and Shannon Wilson, whose vision for a better world serves as the catalyst for imagine1day, and whose generosity made this very unique and innovative fundraising event possible.

imagine1day Ethiopia