Local nonprofit Diva Donations losing space as rent rises

NORTH LIMA, Ohio (WKBN) — Around 3,000 beautiful prom dresses are desperate to find a new home to continue serving young girls in the area.

Diva Donations is currently located in North Lima — a nonprofit labor of love that helps relieve the financial stress of families while inspiring leadership and responsibility.

Youth can volunteer for a charity in exchange for borrowing a dress and accessories.

“We’re here for them, we’re here for those mothers who are struggling where they have to decide if they’re going to make a car payment, a house payment or put gas in their car at this point — or send their daughter to a dance,” said founder Kristin Bodendorfer.

She said that now with the cost of real estate going up, the nonprofit is losing its space because they can’t afford to stay there.

“The people that have been renting to us have been kind as far as our rental rates but they want to make money too,” Bodendorfer said.

The nonprofit is actively looking for another space — since they were on a month-to-month lease, they’ve been given until the end of May to vacate.

Bodendorfer is in the process of moving their whole facility to a soft landing place just down the road until they find their new home.

She has her sights set on a more accessible location since the Youngstown bus line doesn’t run to the North Lima location.

“Maybe it’s going further into town and making sure we can serve that community easier as well. We don’t know what it is at this point,” Bodendorfer said.

Saturday was the last day for girls to borrow dresses from Diva Donations for this prom season — but they do hope to be open for homecoming.

“I don’t believe that God would put this here and grow it to the capacity that has to have it stop,” Bodendorfer said.