Thanks & Giving

I woke this morning and immediately started thinking about (dreading over) the preparations involved for Thanksgiving. Then, upon saying the word aloud in my head, I reflected on that word for a moment. It's actually two words: Thanks and Giving. I believe for the most part we tend to do our share of "thanks" at this time of year. Some of us head to Facebook and post our once-a-day "what we are thankful for" posts and others take the time at Thanksgiving to give thanks during a dinner prayer. What dawned on me is where the "giving" part of Thanksgiving has gone. I began thinking of things I have done or needed to do. As I started recounting things in my head, our studio came to mind.

First and foremost, I am thankful for the students and parents, who on a leap of faith, believed enough in our vision to support us and to see these things through to fruition. As far as giving back to our students and parents, I think about our process, our policies, what we stand for. Never would we charge an exorbitant amount for costumes, shoes, T-shirts or any other required item in order to personally profit. Our students and parents are number one and to misguide, mislead or misinform them would be against our ethics. We pride ourselves on having a very clean conscience when it comes to the transparency of our business.

When I think about the studio as a whole, I think about our diligence in giving back to the community: the school supply drive, helping the YMCA, the food bank drive, etc. It's exciting to think about how many other things we have in store and how many lives we'll be touching in the process. DPAC is going to make an impact in our community-it's not a question of how or when, but we are right now. We aren't just a studio, we're a family who sees the needs of the community we live in. Without the community, there is no DPAC. There may not be turkey and dressing at DPAC next Thursday, but there will be Thanksgiving everyday.