DANVILLE —  Sheltering Wings hosted a night of celebration and reflection as it marked the 10-year anniversary of its opening.

Sheltering Wings is a shelter in Danville for women and their dependent children who are fleeing domestic violence situations. The staff invited several members of the community who have been active with the shelter since the beginning.

Maria Larrison served as master of ceremonies for the program, introducing each speaker and telling the audience how they impacted the shelter. She told the story about how the idea of Sheltering Wings came to be.

It was 12 years ago that Sue Hoffeditz, founder of the shelter, was working in her church’s food pantry when she noticed that many of the women who came in were battered.

She had the idea to house women who needed to get out of an atmosphere of domestic violence. Hoffeditz and a handful of other people started what is now Sheltering Wings.

She attended the anniversary party and spoke to the crowd.

“You have all become a part of something bigger and better than yourselves,” Hoffeditz said. “You have lives of purpose and what you do will matter forever.”

She told the volunteers and staff members that the shelter came from a calling from God to make the lives of suffering women better.

“Our primary goal is to glorify God,” Hoffeditz said. “I pray that all who seek our help here have peace, hope, and a new beginning.”

It took two years of organizing and fundraising before the shelter opened its doors in December 2001.

Another founding father and board member, Bob Leonard, also spoke at the event.

“Larry Bellville and I looked at a 1,200 square foot two-bedroom home north of Brownsburg and thought that could be our shelter,” Leonard said. “Now we have a 34,000 square foot facility that can house 30 women and 20 children. This is an absolute fulfillment of God’s will.”

Leonard went on to recognize the four women who have served as chief executive officer of Sheltering Wings — Julie Randall, April Bordeau, Ann Grayson, and Maria Larrison.

He pointed out contributions that each of the women had made to the shelter while leading the staff.

“And I would be willing to go on record that the $3 million expansion project that we’re going through would not have been possible without the leadership of Maria (Larrison),” he said.

A shelter resident spoke about her experiences at the shelter and how the staff has changed her life. In June 2011, she spent a week in the hospital. She told the nurses she didn’t want to go home. A social worker first told her she could go to the Julian Center, but then she was told she was going to Sheltering Wings.

“I was tired of being abused and addicted to drugs,” she said. “I have a 3-year-old, a 9-year-old, and a 13-year-old that had all been taken from me.”

She said she had never heard of Sheltering Wings but was offered a cab ride by hospital personnel to the shelter.

“I was a handful when I came,” she said. “But I started learning more about God. I had known God, but had gotten away from him.”

She said it was through the classes offered at the shelter, along with the constant love she felt from staff and volunteers, that helped her change her life.

“God has opened doors for me,” she said. “I am seven months clean, I have a job, and I am studying to get my GED. I have also been able to see my oldest son. I feel peace and hope — it’s all over me. I thank God for renewing my life.”

The crowd gave her a standing ovation and many happy tears were shed for her.

Board chairman Greg Hylton said her speech was a difficult one to follow, but he spoke about how excited he is for the future of the shelter.

“We have amazing support from our community,” he said. “We’re trying to be more proactive, like our teen dating violence program.”

He also spoke about a new mentoring program called Boys to Men that will soon start.

“We’re out there to educate and we have faith that it will pay off in the future,” Hylton said.

The shelter’s next big fundraiser is the annual Valentine’s Dinner Dance. It will be Feb. 11 at The Westin Indianapolis. Tickets are $200 per couple or $100 for a single. To purchase tickets, call 386-5062 or visit the shelter’s website at www.shelteringwings.org/dinnerdance.

brenda.holmes@flyergroup.com