Nominated by
Cheryl Brown
October 29, 2021
Allison who is referred to as AK is a very special type of human. They are an artist, a web designer, an author, a fierce advocate, a cat parent, partner, a sibling and I am so proud to call them my friend. This isn’t a typical friendship but one that started via social media. I would watch AK’s advocacy video’s on TikTok. They fight against the wrongs of the world in a way that makes virtual strangers believe whole heartedly that someone has their back. They have truly made a difference in the world and peoples lives simply by living their truth. I encourage you to take some time to watch AK’s TikTok page to get some real insight into who they are. Make sure you don’t have any pressing plans because once you watch one video you will surely succumb to the urge to view them all.
This is my experience. I saw a lot of sadness in their eyes and identified with that because I own a similar set. I noticed that when they spoke about the Asbury Park Dinner Project (an organization that they founded to feed people that need a hand up in their neighborhood) that those eyes were brighter. They are fierce when speaking about the absolute disasters and injustices in the world but the difference is that it isn’t just talk. AK always takes action to make a difference. They have a brilliant and creative mind that inspires quotes or slogans that evoke responses. These are not froo froo slogans like “I Stop For Dogs” but strings of words put together to give a knock out punch. The beautiful thing about this is that they put these words on everything from t-shirts to fanny packs and sell them with partial proceeds going to amazing organizations that also make a difference. It was absolutely no surprise to me at all when they reached out to my friend Chellby in Texas to ask where they should donate the monies raised from the t-shirt fiercely opposing what Governor Greg Abbott is doing to women in Texas. No I will not share what the slogan is because you truly need to watch AK’s page. Very shortly after this Chellby and myself began working on our project Lavender PolkaDot which is a grassroots survivor run organization for survivors. Because of the incredible soul they are we asked and AK accepted an appointment to our board. We had someone step up to build our website but AK asked if they could create our splash page. That was a resounding yes but it gets better!! The person who stepped up to build the website was going to have a delayed start and unbeknown to Chellby and I, AK just kept creating the site.
Before the website even launched AK received a message from a woman whose son and here were in imminent danger and had to escape their abusive situation by 1:15 that day and they notified Chellby, myself and another member of our board and we all sprung into action. It is an incredible rescue story that you can watch unfold through video on the Lavender PolkaDot Facebook page but for this purpose the take-away is that someone who did not know about this project reached out to someone they had not met but had watched on TikTok and conversed with a couple of times to please help save her life. Someone they knew would do whatever they could to help a person out of a bad situation!! That is who AK is!! The smiles the rescue brought to their face makes one watch the video talking about the rescue story takes away some sadness from their
eyes. When one is a survivor as AK is the pain will always be there but the joy of giving back and feeling like you have found your purpose eases the pain and makes you want to open your eyes the next morning! AK is loved by so many and they have a GoFund me to raise funds so they can launch a business where there is no more middle man. What makes AK different is that they talk about how the charities will receive larger dollar amounts because there will be more profit when it is their own business. It’s never about AK with AK it is all about the lives they help change. I don’t bring people into my world easily but to me AK is family and I am honoured to know them. AK is AWESOME!!