Atlanta, GA

Atlanta, Georgia
Saturday, June 22nd

We woke up this morning ready for a busy day of work.  We knew today would be an exciting one, after talking extensively with a CASA representative who told us they had ready at the trailer site for us.  When we arrived at the trailer's location, we saw two large white tents, a table of breakfast food, a makeup station, and many girls and the CASA reps eagerly waiting our arrival.  There was even a news channel there to film the day!  Allyson's friend Kelsey from the Prudential Awards showed up with the rest of her family to help us throughout the day.  Kelsey started a project called Bands4RAINN, which raises money for survivors of sexual assault.  She had a blast and did a great job helping the girls to find clothes throughout the day.  The girls had a lot of fun choosing their items, and we enjoyed working with all of the kind and amazing girls during their shopping appointments.

Katie, Kelsey, and Allyson with Kelsey.

The tents that CASA set up for us and the girls.

Allyson getting interviewed for a news channel.

Allyson holding a thank you frame with notes from the girls. 

Allyson with the Fulton County CASA staff.

After packing up the trailer, we headed out to explore the World of Coke in Atlanta.  We had so much fun tasting the flavors from all around the world and choosing our favorites.  We highly recommend going to the World of Coke, it such was a great experience!

Katie, Kelsey, and Allyson in front of Coca-Cola memorabilia.

The tasting room at the World of Coca-Cola.  (If you go there, try the Beverly from Italy because it's delicious!)

On our way to Florida, we made sure to stop and get some sweet Georgia peaches! 

Overall, It was an absolutely great day.  We had a blast working with the CASA staff and the amazing girls, and had a great road trip to Florida after!  We are now looking forward to having another awesome day in Florida tomorrow!

Birmingham, AL

Birmingham, AL

We arrived in Birmingham late last night after a five hour drive from Jackson, MS.  We were greeted by the gregarious staff of the Hotel Highland who helped maneuver the mobile boutique into a perfect spot right in front of the hotel.  The next morning the team got to work cleaning and organizing between appointments.  We were able to clear out a ton of space and replenish the racks of clothes.  We also met numerous girls today who were so kind and eager to talk with us.  Soon it was one o'clock and we were ready to pack up and head to Atlanta.

The mobile boutique parked in a much sought after spot in front of the hotel..

Inside the Hotel Highland in Birmingham, Alabama.

Allyson as she cleans and organizes the back of the truck.

The gourmet Popsicle shop we stopped at in Birmingham. YUM!!!

Jackson, MS

Jackson, Mississippi

Thursday, June 20th

This morning we got some much-needed time to sleep in, as appointments started at 1:00 today and not 10:00 like usual. While it was great to get the extra sleep, the downside was that the shopping appointments were at a hotter time of day.  The temperature got up to a blistering 97 degrees, with a heat index of 106! At one point we had seven girls shopping in the trailer, which caused the heat in the non-air-conditioned trailer to go up about 10 degrees! The girls seemed to be used to it, but we were struggling to stay hydrated and cool.  Even with the intense humidity, the girls had a blast finding their three items and we had a great time helping them! 

Allyson with Tahneesha Harris from the Division of Family and Children Services

After all fifteen girls left happy with their clothes, we packed up the trailer and headed off on our four hour drive to Birmingham, Alabama! Along the way we stopped in downtown Jackson and saw both the old and the new capitol buildings.  

Mississippi's old Capitol building

The new capitol building hidden behind some trees

We made it to sweet home Alabama!

Little Rock, AR

Little Rock, Arkansas
Wednesday, June  19th

This morning began the second stop on our second leg of Threads for Teens on Tour.  We awoke bright and early to set up the mobile boutique and get everything ready for the girls.  At just ten in the morning the heat was already 83 degrees and a heat index of 97 degrees, but it didn't faze our intrepid volunteers.  Soon the girls came piling in and we got to work helping each girl find the perfect outfit for her individual style.  A few girls were looking for an outfit to wear to job interviews they had the next day and we were able to find just the right look that was professional and classy.


While setting up in the morning we met a local girl who had read about Threads for Teens in Clubhouse magazine and came out to help us that day. It was great to have an extra pair of hands and to see how the word was being spread about Threads for Teens.

Allyson and Callie after a long day of volunteering in the Threads for Teens mobile boutique.

KTHV news crew interviewing Allyson in Littler Rock Arkansas.

After we had closed up the shop we were able to tour the Dassault Falcon Jet facility. This is where high-class airplanes are customized and built for private ownership. It was an amazing experience to get a private tour of the facility by one of the company's engineers. At one point we were able to walk inside a finished jet, but not without hairnets and booties.

Allyson, Kelsey, and Katie showing off their hair nets in front of the Dessault Falcon Jet facility.

After leaving Little Rock we headed towards Jackson, Mississippi, but first we made a pit stop in Memphis, TN to visit Graceland and get ourselves authentic southern BBQ.

Allyson, Kelsey, and Katie in front of the gates to Elvis' Graceland Mansion.

Dallas, TX

Dallas, Texas
Tuesday, June 18th

We woke up this morning in Dallas, Texas, thrilled for the beginning of the second leg of Threads For Teens on Tour.  We had a lot of work to do in the trailer after 41 long hours on the shaky road.  The clothes had to be put in color order and arranged by size and the boxes had to be sorted through and combined. While we were getting the trailer ready, a group of seven girls quickly filled the trailer at once.  We all had a great time helping the girls find clothes.  More girls came later on and were also very excited and positive when searching for their new clothes.  Today was Katie and Kelsey's first day on the tour, so they got to learn how to organize the trailer, fold clothes properly, and especially how to interact with the girls.  Overall, it was a successful day and we all enjoyed our time in the Big D.  Thank you to all of the amazing ladies and girls we got to meet today!

Shortly after, we headed off to Little Rock, Arkansas! Along the drive, Allyson saw a sign for "Fried Pies" and we all agreed to stop and try this local delicacy.  We highly recommend stopping at the Original Fried Pie Shop, because they were some of the best pies we ever tasted!

                             The sign for the Fried Pie Shop

We also saw the cheapest gas we've seen so far! Go Texas

                 After 5 entertaining hours in the car, we arrived in Arkansas!

The highlighted route of the first leg, Thanks Amy!

Salt Lake City + Seattle + Portland + End of Leg 1

Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City started off awesome! We pulled into downtown Salt Lake on monday evening to the awesome Hotel Monaco (Check them out HERE). Our room was extremely posh and spacious. The next morning, we started appointments with girls from the Salt Lake City CASA program. Parked right out front of the Hotel Monaco, girls tried on and chose clothes all day long. Unfortunately, this was Natalie and Auntie Abbie's last day with us on the tour. They did an awesome job while they were there, however it was sad to see them leave.

Seattle

In Seattle, Threads for Teens was hosted by the lovely Pan Pacific Seattle Hotel (Check them out HERE). Our rooms were extremely comfortable and luxurious. One room even had a fabulous view of the Space Needle! In Seattle, we were so blessed with the generosity of everyone from the Pan Pacific and Discovery Center who were attentive to all of our needs. A big thank you to everyone we worked with at both places! In Seattle, I was fortunate to be able to see a friend, Clare O'Connor that I had met last summer through a program called ANNPower Vital Voices, a program that provides mentorship to teen girls with powerful mentors in a four day summit. She came out to say hi! The girls all loved the clothes they were able to receive in Seattle.


Portland
In Portland, we stayed at the super-hip and eclectic Ace Hotel (Check them out HERE). Our room was very cool and had such a downtown Portland vibe. In Portland, my friend Matt Ferguson, of Matt's Chemo Bags, and the HALO awards came out to hang out and volunteer at the truck all day. It was a great time visiting and outfitting girls in new outfits. Make sure to check out his website HERE and like his organization on Facebook HERE.


LEG ONE IS OFFICIALLY OVER! STAY TUNED FOR LEG TWO UPDATES!!!
XOXO
Allyson Ahlstrom

Denver, CO

Denver, Colorado 
Monday, June 10th 

This morning we were pleasantly surprised to see Fox 31 news station filming the truck and trailer, waiting for us. Frank, the camera man/ reporter informed us that in Denver the news stations have what's referred to as a "pool," which means that though one reporter was on site, five Denver news stations will air the story. Unfortunately, Allyson was unaware that the press was going to be on site today so she was out running errands when Frank arrived. So- Natalie had to act as the Threads for Teens spokesperson.

Frank from Fox 31, (and 5 other stations) interviewing Natalie. 

Fox 31 Denver news car.

Following the surprise arrival of Fox 31, Amy was approached by two very excited girls, their little brother and nanny. The group was looking for Allyson. The two girls, Emily and Michaela, had seen Allyson on the Disney channel and Nickelodeon Halo Awards. Emily was so inspired by Allyson and what she created, that she chose Threads for Teens as the benefactor of her bat mitzvah gifts. During her bat mitzah, Emily had to give a speech explaining Threads for Teens and why she chose it to be the benefactor of her bat mitzvah- so this twelve year old had certainly done her homework! She had researched Threads for Teens, its mission, the 48 state tour, and found out when we would be in Denver. She decided to plan to meet Allyson in Denver and present the donation in person. This twelve year old is quite impressive! Emily, Michaela, Sarah and Brady were a pleasure to meet and a big help! Emily, Michaela and Brady helped set up the jewelry wall this morning. Which they did with ear to ear grins. And after a short wait, Allyson returned from her errands- only making the girls' smiles quadruple. They both were ecstatic to be meeting Allyson and were quite thrilled to know that their story and pictures would be put on social media. 

Emily and Michaela hanging jewelry on our jewelry wall.

Emily and Michaela posing in the truck.

Emily, Allyson and Michaela.

Michaela, Allyson and Emily presenting Threads for Teens with a monetary donation.

Thank you Country Inn and Suites, Aurora. Thank you Denver CASA girls. Off to Salt Lake City, Utah. Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog post!