Columbus was an experience. Last year, the Crowne Plaza
Columbus Downtown donated a one-night stay for us and hosted our event. This
year, they were also kind enough to host us again! Juliann Beatty in the sales
office, was so kind to help us out. She wanted to get more involved with
Threads for Teens because she was so inspired from the previous year. Well,
fortunately Thirty-One Gifts, an amazing bag direct sale company was having
their annual weeklong conference in Columbus, right across the street from the
Crowne Plaza Columbus Downtown. Knowing this, Juliann reached out to the head
of charitable giving, Wendy, to let her know all about Threads for Teens.
Thirty-One was really interested in Threads for Teens, especially since one of
our main colors is pink ;)
After dinner, they invited us to come to the convention and
see what Thirty-One is all about in person! First of all, there were so many
women everywhere!! 17,000 women attended the convention. As we were walking
around, I am pretty sure Grandpa Gus felt slightly out of place! All of the
women we were walking with were quite the celebrities and everyone kept
stopping and asking to take pictures! Wendy was happy Grandpa Gus was with us
because she had him be everyone’s ‘bodyguard’ so we could walk around the
convention without it taking forever! First, they took us to a special room
they had set-up for women to fill sanitary care packages. What was so special
about this is that at the end, everyone writes a special note to place in the
bags! We all filled a couple, and then started making our way toward the
Thirty-One Gives booth.
The Thirty-One gives booth was really inspiring to see in
person, because many women who do not normally volunteer were extremely
interested in learning more about Girl Talk and the Ronald McDonald House
(Thirty-Ones other national charity partner). We also met Haley’s mom, who was
dressed up in a bright pink wig, telling everyone how she could bring Girl Talk
to her communities. If you don’t already know about Thirty-One Gifts and
Thirty-One Gives, I would highly recommend checking them out.
Onto Friday, where girls came out! Juliann from the Crowne
Plaza Columbus Downtown made the most adorable sugar cookies with pink frosting
for all of the girls, to match the Thirty-One Gives bags that were donated to
us. Ashley Haley from Thirty-One also came in the morning to volunteer with us
all day. She was in charge of passing out all of the Thirty-One bags and making
sure the girls know about their inspiring mission. All of the girls were
extremely grateful for the experience to come, and I got to talk with several
of them about how this small gesture of new clothing would impact their lives
for the better. One girl even wrote in the guest book, “It made me feel like I was special.” It is so sad that the girls
who come to Threads for Teens don’t realize that they are special and are
important and can accomplish anything. I keep stressing this because the girls
who come are worth it, regardless of what they may be told or how they feel.
Toward the end, Wendy and Haley also stopped by to see the mobile boutique in
action. I am so grateful to be connected to such an amazing company as
Thirty-One, which truly emphasizes girl empowerment. 
I would like to end with something Juliann told me on the
phone before we arrived in Columbus. When she was organizing all of this, she
said to me that something I said to her last year really stuck in her mind. I
said to her that Threads for Teens’ mission is complete if inspire one person
to do something to make a difference for others or empower someone to go after
his/her aspirations. Juliann told me I did exactly this when I said that to her
and really took to heart how she could do something to help out. By making
several phone calls, she has opened a great door of opportunity for Threads for
Teens. Thank you Juliann! AND PLEASE, anyone who wants to help out with any
type of organization, look at me or the example of Juliann. It only takes a
small gesture to make a big difference.
XOXO
Allyson Ahlstrom
