Thanksgiving... a holiday that is often overshadowed by bright lights, gifts, and some character we call Santa. We all have our own traditions for the holiday season. Some of us travel and some of us stay. Many of us feast while others go day by day. Whether it is your tradition to gather around the table or to travel to new lands, take a moment to be thankful and lend a hand.

Our team at Phase 2 is thankful for our community, our co-workers, and our clients. We believe November is a month about giving thanks for what we have and giving to those who don’ t have. Our company outing this month was not white water rafting or playing paintball. We did something as a team that focuses, not on us, but on something that positively impacts the community.

There are organizations all over the world that are doing great things all year long to support a stronger community. The least we can do is take this time to give back to one of these amazing organizations. We are proud to be able to serve the Oklahoma City Metro Alliance this holiday season. Connie Schlittler is influential in her work as the Executive Director of this local organization.

OKC Metro Alliance, Inc. is an organization that helps people with drug & alcohol addiction. The Firstep program is a 6-month program for people in recovery. Up to 70 men and 60 women live on a secluded campus (actually, two...one for men, one for women), have a structured day which includes a wakeup call at 5:00, meditation time, going to work at a real job for 5-6 days per week, nightly AA meetings, and lights out at 10:00. The Firstep program includes a high degree of accountability for those trying to beat their addictions. Listening to one of their "graduates" and hearing how this program allowed him to finally turn his life around was very uplifting.

We spent a morning painting the interior of the men's dormitories as well as repairing two of the entrances into those dormitories. This month is an especially good time to reflect on our many blessings and it was an opportunity for us to help those that are working to put their lives back on track.

We craft custom software and are great at what we do, however, this morning we were thanked not for our skill in software development, but for our willingness to serve.

“They called themselves volunteers, but by the excellent work they did they could be properly classified as ‘PROFESSIONALS’.” - Mike, Director of Firstep

We encourage everyone to take time this month to give back to the community, no matter how small the effort. It will be appreciated.