LA VERNE - The supplies are simple - a shoe box and a pair of shoes. Yet, the artwork in this exhibit speaks complexly of great affliction and hope.

On one shoe, with the word "abuse" written boldly across its side, a razor blade drips with red.

On the other shoe, the mood is in contrast. It is decorated with a flower and a happy face - speaking of optimism, love, happiness and peace.

In a silent yet powerful testament, dozens of shoeboxes unique in design yet similar in truth sit on a table in a quiet room. These represent the past and present lives of girls who stay at David and Margaret's Youth and Family Services in La Verne.

"It's a way for them to express their journey," said Kathy Wessels, director of development Replica Coach Oblate Bag Handbags at David and Margaret.

The anonymous artists share their journeys leading up to their present selves as residents on campus, using a multimedia of shoes and shoeboxes.

These shoeboxes - along with short written works - comprised the featured art exhibit, "Walking in Their Shoes," at the agency's annual Holiday Open House on Saturday.

David and Margaret's main campus is home to 48 girls, ranging from 11 to 18 years old. They stay anywhere from 30 days to four years on the property - depending on the severity of their situation, said agency spokesperson Theresa Macalino.

Girls are assigned to a cottage based on their needs - from coping with drug and alcohol abuse to being a victim of physical abuse to impending emancipation. Each cottage is distinguished by its mascot or given name, rather than the reason behind the youth's stay.

In the emancipation house, known as the sunflower or "Tarr" cottage, chores are assigned and rotated weekly to facilitate a girl's forthcoming independence.

The cottages house at least two girls per room and are furnished with the bare necessities - a bed, desk and other small effects - due to limited governmental funding, Macalino said.

These homes are the only stability many of these girls have, according to Wessels, which is a reason many were excited to showcase their living space during the open house.

"It's really an opportunity for them to show off their cottages," Wessels said.

The open house also launched the celebration of the agency's 100th anniversary in 2010.

In its century of existence, David and Margaret's has seen vast growth as a facility and within its youth.

In 1910, local businessman Henry Kuns and his wife donated 17.5 acres of land and an old hotel in La Verne to the Women's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The hotel was intended as an orphanage for children in memory of their deceased son and Kuns' father, David, and mother, Margaret.

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It wasn't until 1964 that the site became a homelike environment with the first residential cottage being built. Within five years, more cottages were added and the last in 1995 - allowing the site to be home to up to 70 girls. The campus can house up to 50 girls on 14 acres (the remaining 3.5 acres were sold).

The old hotel, which is now the Whitney Building, was the focal point for the main attraction, the Christmas tree lighting.

Each cottage was deco
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