January 17th, 2010, is a Sunday I remember vividly. The day was lazy so I reluctantly picked up a book, given to me by parents, called Generation Change. The book centered on different teens who had completed amazing service projects, such as one called Project Princess, which distributed prom dresses to girls in need. Inspired by the powerful message, I came up with an idea of going one step further than dresses, which was to start a clothing project to outfit underprivileged girls in brand-new outfits. I founded an organization called Threads for Teens, which now provides girls who are in foster care or situations of poverty the opportunity to come shop at a store, set up as a real boutique, for two head-to-toe brand-new outfits, all free. When I started the organization, the importance of Threads for Teens was to fill the tangible need of clothing for girls who essentially wear rags. Since then, Threads for Teens has flourished and now serves 250 girls. My new goal is to make the program national. In the summer of 2013, I will be going on a forty-eight state tour with the goal of outfitting one thousand girls. Since its inception, Threads for Teens has garnered over $135,000 in product donations and $55,000 in monetary contributions. Last week, I was handed a check for $10,000, by Nick Cannon, through the TeenNick Halo Awards.
Several years have passed since the first girls came for shopping appointments. I now realize that the store gives a greater gift than clothes, it offers dignity. The boutique has four walls, three are painted pink, and the back-wall is one huge chalkboard. The racks are all spray-painted gold, funky artwork adorns the pink walls, along with antique doorknob jewelry-holders. All of the merchandise is brand-new. Girls in situations of poverty rarely get their choice of clothing. Girls, who are normally looked down upon for choices beyond their control, such as drug-addicted parents, or abuse that lingers in their personalities, are able to shop at the boutique with not a care in the world.
Often times, people respond to my project as though it is a great feat, but the project has invited me to realize that there are souls behind the masks we know as bodies. I have been guilty of stereotyping those who are marginalized by using the dreaded ‘H’ word, ‘help’. Recently, during a four-day fully sponsored summit I attended, put on by ANN Inc. and Vital Voices, the group leader mentioned that she kept hearing me say the word ‘help’ when describing Threads for Teens. She politely suggested that while my heart was in the right place, my perception was not. She said I should be looking at Threads for Teens as an avenue to provide inspiration for teenage girls to reach their aspirations. After hearing her compelling argument, I agreed, and have been working to overcome the barrier of negative stereotyping, by rethinking my relationship with the girls and insights that they have given to me.
Threads for Teens has been a blessing in so many ways, but overall I have learned valuable skills in overcoming challenges such as time management, professionalism, and sales. When I was a freshman in high school, I wanted to be a fashion designer. However, from now running a boutique, essentially as a business, I want to own a company in the future, while always remaining involved with Threads for Teens, by overseeing its expansion into all fifty states. To make this a possibility, I must acquire appropriate skills such as business management, delegation, and finance. College will most definitely provide me with the opportunity to take classes in these areas and others to expand my knowledge and further broaden the possibility of leadership in the business world.