A California teen’s project to boost underprivileged kids’ self esteem through fashion made a pit stop in the First State Wednesday. WDDE’s James Dawson caught up with Allyson Ahlstrom to learn about the mobile version of her Threads for Teens project.
[audio:http://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/teenthreads.mp3|titles= WDDE political reporter James Dawson takes a tour of Allyson Ahlstrom's Threads for Teens mobile boutique.]
At first glance, Allyson Ahlstrom looks like your typical recent high school graduate. She had her long, brown hair tied back in a high ponytail with shorts and a light top to beat the heat when I met her, with her phone always within reach.
But she has a certain air about her that immediately stood out when she began describing the work she’s done over the past four years.
The California teen has been winding through the lower 48 states all summer with a mobile boutique in tow.
Ahlstrom founded the nonprofit Threads for Teens when she was just fourteen. The company’s headquarters sits in Santa Rosa, California, where underprivileged kids are referred to it through certain social agencies. Those teens get to shop their hearts out, choosing from more than 40 name brands, eventually taking home any three items they want.
Allyson has raised more than $210,000 in money and clothing donations from companies like Urban Outfitters and American Eagle and her work has earned her many local and national awards for her service.
A year ago, she decided to take the company on the road for a summer tour.
When I met her, she was camped out with a few volunteers in a Dover hotel parking lot waiting for the girls visiting them that day, so I ask for a tour.
[caption id="attachment_47428" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Allyson Ahlstrom started Threads for Teens at age 14 while still in high school."]
“As you walk from the back of the trailer to the front, there’s tons of racks hanging up with colorful clothing so the girls can sort through, look through and find stuff. And then at the very back of the trailer we have two fitting rooms,” Ahlstrom said.
Dozens of necklaces, sunglasses and other accessories adorn the wall, with the entire trailer decked out in a pink and gold motif.
Delaware is one of the final stops on her tour.
She says something she never tires of is hearing these girls’ stories and the way they’re sometimes transformed from just a short visit to the shop.
“Sometimes girls walk in and they’re really timid and shy and they’re not talking much," Ahlstrom noted, "But by the end, they have these huge smiles on their faces and are so excited that some of them even wear the clothing out that they chose, which is absolutely incredible because that shows us that we really did our job well.”
One specific experience sticks out in her mind from this summer.
Ahlstrom says she met a girl who had just been diagnosed with stomach cancer and her father had recently died in Iraq.
“She had just been through so much and to be able to come here and get away from that bad situation for the two and a half hours that she was at the trailer, that was really powerful for her and for us to connect with her on a personal level,” recalled Ahlstrom.
While there are somber moments like that, she says it’s been a fantastic experience. One her mom, Amy, has shared.
“I just can’t believe she pulled it off. It’s awesome,” said the elder Ahlstrom, who's been tagging along in a donated vehicle for the entire stretch of the journey.
[caption id="attachment_47428" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Some of the accessories to choose from in the Threads for Teens mobile botique."]
Watching Allyson grow up, she says she felt that her daughter would accomplish something like this eventually, but maybe not quite so soon.
“I didn’t think she would something of this magnitude at this point, you know, just turning 18. But I knew at some point she would do something big, just from everything she’s done. But actually, this is a bit bigger than anything I imagined, ever,” said Amy Ahlstrom.
It won’t be long before Allyson returns to the East Coast after finishing this tour. She’ll be studying economics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School this fall.
Her friend Taylor Foster joined her for the summer trip and will be taking over the California boutique for now.
She tells me she’s going to focus on school during her freshman year, but that a Philadelphia Threads for Teens boutique isn’t out of the question.
Eventually, she wants to have locations in all 50 states.
