Des Moines, IA + Wrap-Up of the Second Leg

Our entire journey so far! We have driven a lot of miles!

Greetings!
This blog post is a couple days past overdue, however, here it is nevertheless! We drove into Des Moines on July 2nd, after our Minneapolis stop. All of us really enjoyed seeing the beauty of the landscape of Iowa. The farm lands coupled with the beautiful lakes and ponds, really made our drive more memorable than most, in regards to scenery. Our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn West Des Moines, was brand-new, and extremely comfortable. Katie, Kelsey, and myself enjoyed the hot tub that night, after a long days work in Minneapolis.

Kelsey, Katie, and Allyson. Thank you Katie and Kelsey
for being amazing volunteers! 

The next day, we were eager to set-up shop in Des Moines, as we were all well-rested and excited to be finishing up our second leg. The weather was nice for the day as well, not too hot in the slightest. That day we were greeted with extremely enthusiastic girls who were all excited to be shopping in the mobile boutique. After appointments, we had some time to kill before our flight that evening. We went into downtown Des Moines and walked around, going in and out of some very cute shops.

Overall, the second leg of the tour was a blast and my mom and I will sure be missing Katie and Kelsey on the road for the third leg. Both put much time and energy into all of the work that needed to be completed. Thank you so much for joining us Katie and Kelsey!

Until next time!
XOXO
Allyson Ahlstrom

Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Tuesday, July 2nd

This morning we packed up the trailer for our second to last day of appointments on the second leg.  We were thankful to have a day of moderate weather, and it reminded it much of the weather back home.  While we are all excited to go back home and finally have some home-cooked meals, we are sad that we only have one more day of interacting with the girls.  Allyson and Amy will get a two week break at home, and then head back on out to start the third leg.  But for Kelsey and Katie, their Threads for Teens on Tour experience has almost come to an end.  It was these thoughts that made us even excited to get the most out of the day of shopping with the girls.

Two of the girls came to the trailer with their dad, who was helping them find their items.  We really enjoyed seeing a dad interact with his daughters in this way.  When we were talking to him, he mentioned that he had four other daughters at home, so he was used to shopping with them.  Everyone knows that a dad who can proudly say he shops with his daughters is a great dad, so keep it up!

We were sad to pack up the trailer when all the shopping was done because we knew that we had one day more until the end of the second leg.  We are now excited for what Des Moines, Iowa, brings for us tomorrow!

P.S. We got to visit Mall of America, which was so incredibly huge! We had a great time checking out the different shops, and even got a chance to ride a roller coaster that is in the middle of the mall!

Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee, WI

We arrived late last night to Wisconsin and were greeted by the friendly staff of Hampton Inn & Suites who gave us a beautiful gift basket and thoughtful note along with our complimentary room.  The next day was a busy one with girls shopping nonstop. We were happy to see so many different girls able to participate in the program.  Today many of the girls were full of joy and eager to talk with us about their personal style of clothing.

Allyson as she helps pick out a formal dress for one shopper.

Allyson being interview for the news.

Chicago, IL

Chicago, Illinois
Sunday, June 30th

Our arrival to the windy city, Chicago, was very fun.  Even though we were stuck in traffic, we were entertained by seeing hundreds of people decked out in Hawaiian and cowboy costumes tailgating before going to the Jimmy Buffet concert.  We eventually got through the traffic and arrived at the Lincoln Hotel.  The hotel was a great location for the threads for teens trailer: downtown near the park, across from the lake.  Due to this great location, we got many visitors asking about Threads For Teens throughout the day.  We also had a gorgeous view of the lake from our room.

The trailer parked in a perfect spot in Chicago!

Right after we finished setting up the trailer, an rush of girls arrived.  We quickly went to work helping the girls find their items. Many of the girls loved the jewelry that Claire's donated at our Detroit stop, and asked us for help matching jewelry to the clothes they already chose.  While Katie was checking a girl out, she commented that the girl had chosen two of Katie's favorite clothing items.  Later, Katie was delighted to read that in the guest book, the girl wrote "You have great clothing and me and one of the girls have the same style :) Thank you! Great Experience." It's great to know that we are also connecting with the girls through similarities, and on a personal level.  We are so thankful to all of the girls who have come through Threads For Teens, and it is amazing to read their comments that say how thankful they are.  One girl wrote, "Great job on helping teens all over the world, you guys are the best. Thanks." 

After our awesome day interacting with the many teen girls, we packed up the trailer for going to Wisconsin!  On our way out, we made sure to stop by the Cloud Gate, a.k.a., the Chicago Bean, in Millennium Park.

Allyson, Katie, and Kelsey posing at The Bean. What an awesome pose!

The Cloud Gate

Detroit, MI

Detroit, MI

We were greeted this morning in Detroit to five eager volunteers who came to us from Claire's Accessories.  They were such a big help in setting up the mobile boutique and getting us organized.  We were also ecstatic to have twenty-four girls come in today and receive brand new outfits. The trailer was overflowing with girls trying on dresses and picking out jewelry.  However, each girl still got a personal shopping experience with the help of the Claire's girls who offered style advice, opened fitting rooms, and color coated the racks.  This left time for other volunteers to sort through storage and organize the massive amounts of clothing that has been donated for the tour.  It was cold and productive day in Detroit that was well spent serving others.

Allyson was very grateful that Suzanne Rielle of Loobalee.com came to visit today.

A group of girls who came to shop today.

Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis, Indiana

Friday, June 28th

We arrived to our hotel early on Thursday and were greeted by the kind and welcoming hotel staff of the luxurious Conrad Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. We had a great stay at this hotel and it was a prime location for the appointments in the trailer. Thank you so much to the Conrad Hotel for welcoming us! 

Allyson with the manager of the Conrad hotel.

This morning many excited girls arrived to the trailer all at once, eager and ready to get their new clothes!  It was a bit crowded in the trailer with many people in it, but we were all able to manage.  Usually it gets extremely hot in the trailer when there are so many people, but today the weather was perfect; not too hot and not too cold, with a gentle breeze blowing through the trailer.  This breeze caused the fitting rooms to fly open often, but that problem was soon fixed when the hotel sent someone down with binder clips.  These clips solved the problem of the dressing rooms flying open in the midst of someone trying on clothes, so the girls greatly appreciated this small favor from the hotel. With the help of us and their social workers, the girls  all found their perfect items and had a great time shopping.  

While we had girls finding clothes, we also had many visitors from the street who came in to see what Threads for Teens is.  Among these visitors was a philanthropy group from a local college sorority, a social worker from a local organization, and the manager of the hotel.  Later in the day, a Spanish-only speaking family came in to ask what the trailer was for.  Thankfully, Kelsey had taken four years of Spanish in high school, so she was prepared to speak to them about Threads for Teens!  Overall, the day was a nice mix of good weather, great girls, and numerous visitors!  We packed up the trailer happy with the days events, but sad to leave the great city of Indianapolis.  

We had a beautiful view of Indianapolis from our hotel.

We are now excited for another great day in Detroit, Michigan!

Louisville, KY

Louisville, KY

Today was a relaxing and rewarding day here at Threads for Teens on Tour.  We began by setting up the trailer as usual and welcomed several guests early that morning including family and friends. One of our guests was Madison Roy and her family. Madison and her brother have a radio show which they interviewed Allyson for that morning.  Soon after, girls began coming in at a steady pace.  One girl was a very picky shopper as she was looking for just the right casual t-shirt in an extremely small size.  It was a challenge to find an outfit that would put a smile on her face.  However, after searching through several boxes we were able to send her home with three shirts just her style.  Later in the day, a woman named Lucy who is a CASA volunteer was able to come in and pick out a few outfits for girls who were not able to come to the mobile boutique.  Lucy was so excited to look around at all the beautiful dresses and tops. Referring to the foster girls she mentors Lucy said "They are going to freak, they have never had these kind of clothes". 

 

Madison Roy is a friend of Allyson's who she met at Prudential Spirit of Community Award.  Madison has raised over $9,000 through the sale of two books that she and her brother wrote.   The profits go towards helping families dealing with leukemia and sickle cell anemia. 

Some of the girls shopping during our stop in Louisville, KY.

Emily Kossey, a girl who Allyson met at ANN Power & Vital Voices is also active in her community.  Her project teaches underprivileged families healthy eating habits through informative cooking classes.