Care to hear what Allyson Ahlstrom did last weekend?
The nationally acclaimed and simply extraordinary Santa Rosa kid celebrated turning 18, graduated from Cardinal Newman, attended the all-night grad party and worked on final details of today's launch of a 48-state charitable summer road trip.
And presumably she slept and ate a little.
Allyson's life has been transformed by a sweet, little idea that has grown into a mission of caring that has touched countless hearts and brought this young woman the nation's gratitude.
Earlier this month in Washington, D.C., actor Kevin Spacey and Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix lauded her as one of the 10 top teen volunteers in America.
"Honestly, I can't really believe it," she said. When she was 14, she had the idea to pull off just one clothing drive for girls whose financial status denied them the joy and confidence boost of wearing a nice outfit.
Her desire to then do more prompted some adults, including Bill and Lori Denbeste of Windsor's Denbeste MotorSports, to help her expand her original vision. The result was Threads for Teens, the chic boutique in Windsor that provides new clothes to girls in need.
Allyson receives the fashions - to date, more than $135,000 worth - from national manufacturers. The girls who come into the shop get to choose two complete outfits with all the accessories.
The journey Allyson begins today will carry the Threads for Teens concept to every state in the continental U.S. and, Allyson hopes, will inspire others to emulate it.
The Denbestes are loaning her a truck and a huge trailer that's fully stocked with clothes and emblazoned "Threads for Teens on Tour." Soroptimists in Santa Rosa are paying for the gas.
Another of the local and national sponsors, Ford, has loaned Allyson and her mom, Amy, a C-Max hybrid for the journey.
The plan is to stop in the biggest city in each state and welcome into the mobile boutique 20 girls, inviting them to select outfits. Most of the girls will have been selected by chapters of Court-Appointed Special Advocates.
"In Oklahoma," Allyson said, "we're going to have tornado victims come in."
She will post blogs from the road at threadsforteens.org.
Once Allyson completes the summer tour, which looks to be rewarding but also grueling, she'll put her feet up and take a nice, long rest.
No she won't! She'll get ready to enter the University of Pennsylvania this fall.
KNOW NOH? Japan's Noh drama is one of the oldest performing arts in the world, and this weekend two of its leading actors will perform in Santa Rosa as part of the enchanting Matsuri Festival.
Manjiro Tatsumi and Masayuki Fujii will appear in Sonoma County's first full Noh production on Sunday evening at the Glaser Center. Most of the rest of the festival (sonomamatsuri.com) is on Saturday at Juilliard Park.
Mario Uribe, a festival leader who has done as much as anyone to stoke the love of art in Sonoma County, vows that no one will be disappointed by saying yes to Noh.
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