After just a few, short years, Lisa Blanchard feels like she could write a nice, long book about running a non profit.
Since launching her Grateful Garment Project as a one-woman-organization in 2010, Lisa has worn practically every hat there is to wear at a charitable organization.
"Was it a lot of learning on the job? Absolutely," Lisa says.
Still, Lisa has managed to grow her non profit, providing new clothing to victims of sexual assault who have had to surrender their own to investigators, to 25 California counties serving a population of tens of millions of people.
With all that success, Lisa thought she had come to have a good grasp of the type of person who donates to Grateful Garment.
Then Ryan Tran knocked on her door.
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The 12-year-old San Jose Boy Scout was unlike anyone who had ever donated to the Grateful Garment.
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"I mean, here is a 12-year-old working to regain the dignity to to people that have had theirs stolen." Lisa says.
Ryan actually has a long history of donating to charity. Starting as a Cub Scout in third grade, Ryan has been selling popcorn door-to-door to raise money for a variety of charities that provided toys to underprivileged children.
But last year, while looking for a new charity, he remembered Lisa. She had been to his church more than once asking for donations for Grateful Garment.
Ryan asked his parents who the clothes were for.That is when he learned what sexual assault was.
"They,um, told me how its about people who get touched in spots that they didn’t allow them to," Ryan says.
"I said that's bad and they need help," and so he decided to fundraise for Lisa.
Ryan says he (with the help of his mother) spent three-hours-a-day, four-days-a-week, for an entire month selling popcorn.
The Boy Scouts allowed Ryan to give a percentage of his sales (normally meant for Scout-related activities) to Grateful Garment. Ryan took that money, got his local WalMart to match it, and hit the store looking to fill Lisa's wish-list.
"Could you picture yourself at 12 standing in the aisle of a department store picking out underwear for women?" Lisa says.
"I didn’t really know what sizes to pick," Ryan says, "because I'm not used to, I really don't shop for underwear."
With a little help, though, Ryan managed to purchase dozens of sweatshirts, sports bras, and other clothing that Lisa needs. She says Ryan is not only the youngest, by far, ever to donate to her organization, his was one of the largest single donations she has ever received.
"It not only says a lot about the type of young man he is," Lisa says,"but the type of man he will one day be. It's actually pretty heartwarming to think about."
