Diva Donations provides promenade-dress guidance for spot teens

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NORTH LIMA — DIVA Donations presents carefully utilised official attire, like prom and bridal, to women of all ages and teenagers of the Mahoning Valley by means of local community donations. 

Kristin Bodendorfer, operator of DIVA Donations, 11836 South Ave., Door E on the 2nd floor, describes the operation as “the initially formal clothes closet in Mahoning County.” 

DIVA Donations has served more than 3,000 girls in 12 counties in 3 states considering that its commence 10 decades in the past. 

For formal occasions, dresses are borrowed from DIVA Donations for a $35 deposit. That deposit is refunded to young adults who complete the Sort Deed Currency Method, which supplies a gown, sneakers, jewelry, corsages, and other extras like make-up and perfume for free of charge to women who finish two hrs of local community provider to any 501(c)(3) corporation in their region. 

“If she does not [complete the Kind Deed Currency Program], she however gets $20 again and we retain $15 to cleanse the dress and maintain the closet,” Bodendorfer claimed.

On top of that, numerous location businesses have rallied all-around Diva’s Donations to donate nail, hair and pictures companies to promenade-goers for their faculty dances in preceding a long time as effectively. 

The initiative started in 2011, when Bodendorfer’s daughter was receiving prepared to transfer out of the home. Likely as a result of her daughter’s closet they came across formal dresses “which served her and her good friends attend many dances.” She and her daughter beloved to glance for bargains on prom dresses and acquire them for teens who couldn’t pay for to acquire a gown of their very own. At the time, Bodendorfer’s loved ones had 15 official dresses in their individual collection. 

Bodendorfer told Mahoning Matters she felt “called to do something” with the dresses, so she set a phone-to-motion submit on Facebook. 

“I mainly set a write-up on Fb that reported, ‘Prom’s coming. If anyone wants a dress, let me know. And if any one has a gown, permit me know.’ I ended up with 200 attire in a few months,” she said. 

At the time, Bodendorfer was also contacting resell retail stories and inquiring for their more stock. She mentioned just one lady donated 600 attire from her store in Lisbon that was closing. 

“My spouse [and I], we literally hung racks [and] ladders throughout my garage. All these dresses ended up in bags, [so we] hung ladders throughout my garage though I was hoping to come across a locale,” she claimed. 

Now, DIVA Donations is situated within Previous College Market North Lima and has 5 rooms within the market, including a promenade place, a homecoming home and an accessory place outfitted with a wall of jewellery and footwear. The accessory home is also house to the organization’s five dressing rooms and has a massive golden mirror and a painted silver runway for consumers to model their probable buys. 

Also, DIVA Donations has a “Devoted Diva’s Boutique” area, which Bodendorfer explained as a place for donations that don’t perform for their clientele but can be applied in other techniques, like bridesmaid dresses, mother of the bride attire for a nominal price tag “like $5 or $10.” 

“Devoted Divas Boutique lets us fundraise without the need of possessing to have these massive large fundraisers,” she stated. “We continue to have to be in a position to sustain.”

The corporation not long ago opened a Fairy Godmother Room to host children’s parties. The room also serves as a fundraising prospect for the business, and offers “Princess For a Day” birthday social gathering encounters for 10 little ones, moreover the occasion host, for two hrs for $150. 

A occasion reserving in The Fairy Godmother Home includes celebration provides, invitations, one particular get together attendant, thank you notes, a selection of jewellery from Devoted Diva’s Boutique for the host, adorned bash house, a throne for the host, a costume-up selfie station, crafting location to build a craft to just take household, a dance occasion and a tour of DIVA Donations. 

Extras for The Fairy Godmother Place are also readily available like a princess hostess, tiaras, wands and extra. 

“What’s genuinely excellent about The Fairy Godmother Home is for every bash … we donate a party expertise to a youngster in foster treatment,” Bodendorfer stated. 

“So you get two parties, for one particular and you happen to be encouraging somebody else have that expertise that they may possibly not at any time have.” 

Bodendorfer informed Mahoning Issues that DIVA Donations has also turn into a “training facility” for exclusive desires grownups and young adults that are moving into the workforce. 

“They would occur out on Thursdays [before the COVID-19 pandemic] and they would master merchandising and matching and sizing and all the items that you have to have to do to function in a retail outlet of some form,” she reported. 

Bodendorfer stated DIVA Donations does not need recipients of DIVA Donations attire or providers to give economical documents in buy to consider gain of the firm. 

“You can’t just take somebody’s close of the calendar year revenue and say, ‘Yes, you qualify. No, you don’t qualify.’ You will not know what individuals are doing and what issues are heading on in people’s lives. If somebody is coming to us, we’re going to assistance them,” she said. 

At this time, DIVA Donations is operated by volunteers and open up by appointment only. 

“We do serve both equally [boys and girls] due to the fact, for us, it truly is anyone who needs to dress. We really don’t judge,” Bodendorfer reported. 

Stop by their web-site to ebook an appointment, or inquire about donation and volunteer opportunities.