THREADS FOR TEENS HITS THE ROAD: NEWMAN GRAD WILL SPEND HER SUMMER GIVING AWAY CLOTHES

Teen philanthropist Allyson Ahlstrom has taken her Windsor Threads for Teens boutique on the road in a big way.

The Santa Rosa teen, who started the boutique on the Town Green when she was 15, left Tuesday on a cross-country trip, distributing free clothing in 49 cities to 1,000 girls ages 14-17.

Ahlstrom and her garment-filled truck are in Oklahoma City today, headed for Wichita and Kansas City on Monday. Between now and Aug. 5, they will stop in 48 states, hopefully inspiring people along the way to start similar programs.

Ahlstrom got the idea from reading "Generation Change" by Zach Hunter, a Christmas gift from her mother. She hopes to become a fashion editor or designer, and decided most girls her age also love fashion.

To help those whose families can't afford expensive clothes, she opened the Windsor boutique in August 2010 as a

nonprofit and filled it with new, donated designer clothes. It's open by appointment only to ensure that she has items in each girl's size.

"It's about self-esteem and dignity," Ahlstrom told The Press Democrat in 2012. "The mission has always been to inspire teen girls to live out their dreams."

This summer, she is living out her dream from behind the wheel of a Ford C-Max hybrid car, in which she and her mother are following a 42-foot truck and trailer with fitting rooms. Ford Motor Co. donated the hybrid, and Lori and Bill DenBeste of Windsor's DenBeste MotorSports donated the truck and trailer.

Ahlstrom's grandfather, Gus St. Marie of Sebastopol, lined up male and female volunteers to drive the truck. Drivers need a Class A license and are screened and tested for drugs, he said.

The Ice Nine Group of Detroit donated a pink trailer wrap for the trailer, and Soroptimist International of Santa Rosa is paying for fuel for the hybrid and trailer, estimated at $12,400.

Local and national clothing companies donated the clothing, and individual hotels along the way, some of them Hiltons, will donate lodging.

Volunteers in each city will help replace the outfits on racks and help in other ways, Ahlstrom said.

In addition to graduating from Cardinal Newman High School and celebrating her 18th birthday, Ahlstrom made final preparations for her trip over the Memorial Day weekend.

Using MapQuest, she began organizing the tour last year, dividing it into two 17-city segments and one 15-city leg. "I selected the biggest cities in each state, except for Louisiana," she said. "We'll stop in Baton Rouge, not New Orleans, for logistical reasons."

During breaks between legs of her tour, Ahlstrom will fly back to Sonoma County. The Windsor boutique will remain open during for the first two months of summer.

In August, Ahlstrom will enroll at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, working toward a degree in science and economics. Her friend Taylor Foster, who joins the final leg of the tour, will operate the Windsor boutique.

During the tour's first stop in Los Angeles on May 28, Ford Motor Company officials and Henry Ford III turned over the keys to the C-Max hybrid, Ahlstrom said.

"Twenty girls in Los Angeles will get the first outfits," she said. That includes a top and bottom, a formal or summer dress, shoes, a necklace, bracelet and purse.

They join the 265 high school girls who have each received two outfits at the Threads for Teens boutique at 620 McClelland Drive, including 120 who recently received prom dresses.

Her efforts have attracted national attention, including Nickelodeon's 2012 TeenNick HALO Award and a Teen Jefferson Award for community service from San Francisco's KPIX-TV. In addition to the $10,000 TeenNick award, she received a $10,000 donation from Build-A-Bear Workshop.

"I'm really excited not only to clothe 1,000 girls but to introduce Threads for Teens across the country," Ahlstrom said. "It's a unique way to promote girl empowerment, and I hope it inspires Threads for Teens in their areas."

Read Allyson Ahlstrom's blog from the road at threadsforteens.com.