Kim Stegeman kept hearing from young skaters that they had friends who wanted to join the junior roller derby league, but couldn't afford the expensive skates, helmets and pads.

The founder of

has seen roller derby change the lives of young women, she said, and she wanted the sport to be accessible for everyone. She wanted to provide gear for young women whose parents can't shell out $250 to $350 for skates and safety equipment -- at least not until they're sure their daughter is in it for the long haul.

She wrote a grant proposal and won $9,000 from the

. She talked

into giving her a steep discount and found sponsors to build a cage to store the new gear.

Rose City Rollers launched a new lending program Friday afternoon at their hangar at

.

provides free skates and safety gear to Rosebuds, derby girls ages 12 to 17, to use while they're at the rink. The program encourages responsibility by offering an upgrade to higher quality skates after the girls have borrowed gear six times without forgetting to return it.

Stegeman beamed as she cut the ribbon on a purple cage packed with 100 pairs of skates and the same number of helmets and safety pad sets. Girls rushed to the cage to check out skates and pads before hitting the rink.

"It's been a long road," Stegeman said, "but it's totally worth it."

Ali Root, who is known as "Root of All Evil" on the rink, said participating in roller derby has taught her to embrace her individuality.

"I used to be the girl who followed the other groups," she said. "Now I know what I like, who I like and what my goals are."

The junior at

got involved in the Rosebuds in 2010. She said the roller derby league is more welcoming than other sports in terms of personality and body type. The girls are diverse, she said, and she likes that.

"If I didn't do roller derby, I probably wouldn't be as open-minded, as fun or as responsible," she said.

Take a look at photos from the lending program launch:

Rose City Rollers launch lending program for teen girls 8 Gallery: Rose City Rollers launch lending program for teen girls

-- Melissa Binder