OGDEN — The large room painted with butterflies, ladybugs and a frog was filled Friday with more than 200 people united in a common four-year-long effort.
Included were those who gave thousands of dollars and countless hours of time to see the building rise from the dirt.
But the real stars were the five small children gathered under a Christmas tree munching treats — abused and neglected youngsters who symbolized the very reason adults filled the room.
Ogden celebrated the opening of the state's fourth Christmas Box House, a program that offers shelter and advocacy services to abused and neglected children.
Founded by best-selling author Richard Paul Evans, the facilities provide a nonthreatening environment for children who have been removed from their own homes.
In Ogden's case, Evans teamed up with area agencies to mount the fund-raising effort to make the 14,000-square-foot facility a reality.
The $1.2 million building will not only provide 30 beds for children, but also house offices of the state Division of Child and Family Services, the Utah Foster Care Foundation and the Family Support Center of Ogden.
On Friday, five children currently being sheltered at the Salt Lake facility were invited as special guests for the function.
"We need to go out and make a difference in this world. We need to save these kids today," Evans told the crowd.
The ceremony was also marked with an appearance and speech by another best-selling author, Dave Pelzer, who has had two books nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
Pelzer's book, "A Child Called It" incorporates some of his own experiences growing up in California, where state officials said he had suffered one of the most extreme cases of child abuse they had ever witnessed.
At 12, when he was rescued from his abusive alcoholic mother, he weighed 68 pounds.
"When I was 14, I was learning how to talk. When I was 14, I was learning how to tie shoes."
Pelzer said many believed that by 18, he would either be dead or in prison.
But because of a community of caring supporters, Pelzer not only "made it," but he went on to earn national acclaim because of his military heroism and service to others.
"It is about all of us stepping up to the plate," he said.
Since 1998, the Christmas Box Program has served more than 5,200 children.
E-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com