MWB: A Year in Review and Open Board Positions

   Wow hard to believe Massage Without Borders is one year old already. In this first crucial year we have done so much, and everyone who has supported us and reached out to us has been a motivation and inspiration. Let's take a look back at all that has been accomplished:

November/December 2012:
 -A former student and massage therapist of Gloria Coppola reached out for help in NJ after Hurricane Sandy hit and her business was destroyed.
-Massage Without Borders was born, thanks to Executive Director Gloria Coppola and President William Fee and several other massage colleagues.
-Thanks to several massage suppliers many tables were given to MTs in need.
 * This included 3 B American, Oakworks, Custom Craftworks, Earth Lite and Master Massage, One Concept and Massage Warehouse.
 * Massage Magazine and Massage Pro C.E. provided gift cards for some MT's to help with Thanksgiving dinner along with gift baskets also provided by Massage Pro C.E. (Gloria Coppola's Education company)
-The first Adopt an MT campaign awarded a $3000 check to Compass Spa which suffered severe loss after Hurricane Sandy. Owner Monique Frost is grateful and overwhelmed with all the support.
- $1,000 is donated to Lisa Mayer for her losses in Hurricane Sandy



January 2013:
-Volunteers start coming together from all over the country, and even a few international ones.
-MWB's first Online Auction filled with over $9,000 worth of product raises $4,475, and Nina Howard donates $1000 from a raffle that Bellanina, her company raised.
-Planning begins for National Fundraising event for May 2013.
-Virtual Benefit Concert airs hosted by The Massage Nerd, bringing in more donations for our colleagues. Some of our very own colleagues shared their musical talents, including David Lauterstein author of Deep Massage. Les Sweeney of ABMP stops by to support MWB with a Live message on the show.
-MWB gains more support from businesses like Bellanina Institute, Spa Success LLC, and Tiger Lily Studios,  International Spa Institute, Massage Promotions, Carteret Community College and educators Whitney Lowe and Erik Dalton speak on MWB's behalf.
- MWB T Shirts were released and ABMP helps sponsors along with co sponsors BioFreeze, Massage Magazine, Oakworks, Massage Connection, The Pampered Spirit, Massage Pro CE, FA Davis Co, DayBreak Geratric Massage, Freedom From Pain, Mother Earth Pillows and many others.

February 2013:
-MWB releases their new slogan : "Compassion, Cooperation, Community"
-Massage Without Borders blog is created

March 2013:
-MWB is featured in ABMP's Massage & Bodywork Magazine, Vermont AMTA's blog, and a newspaper in Missouri.
-MWB attends Kentucky and North Carolina AMTA conferences
-Aunty Margaret Humanitarian Awarded to Gloria Coppola for her work with Massage Without Borders by The World Massage Festival
-School posters now available to help spread the word about MWB
-Funds donated to scholarhsip fund by BonVital and Massage Book..approx $2000 total
-More and more schools join up for our National Event
- Massage Magazine continues their support monthly by updating readers with their online newsletter.

Our MWB volunteers from the UK

April 2013:
-LMT Julie Bunnell needs emergency brain surgery, MWB sets up GoFundMe accoutn and starts raising funds for medical expenses. Anatomy in Motion  helps MWB by posting on FaceBook to raise funds . Approx $8000 is raised.
-MWB reaches 150  virtual volunteers
-AMTA Oregon includes MWB in their newsletter
-Massage Without Borders is 501(c)3 approved!

May 2013:
-Artistry E-Auction goes live, with many items donated from generous artists
-MWB attends American Massage Conference thanks to One Concept
-Executive Director Gloria Coppola is interviewed by Hay House Radio on Acts of Kindness Radio Show

June 2013:
-National Event goes live, with donations coming in from many schools all over the US. Grand Prize is a LIFETIME scheduling service donated by Bodywork Buddy. This event raised approx $5000!
-Educational E-Auction & Telethon goes live, with many learning tools up for bid from generous massage educators and companies. This auction raised over $2,500!
-MWB is live on the MassageNerd show online again!
-MWB attends the FSMTA Convention, raffling off a large basket of goodies work over $1,000 to one lucky MT. Thanks to FSMTA for their generous donation to provide a booth for MWB!

Kate Hudak, Gloria Coppola, and Kaye Jackson Hughes at FSMTA

July 2013:
-MT Pamela Rapinan is badly burned after fainting while cooking. MWB assists in raising funds towards her medical expenses, and with the help of Anatomy in Motion posting on their fan page again. Approx $2000.
-National Holistic Institute's blog features a piece on Massage Without Borders
-Two students are awarded with scholarships from MWB, $1000 to a student in Dayton, Ohio and $500 to a student in New Mexico.
-Ink Cartridge Fundraiser begins, anyone can donate their cartridges through Funding Factory, who will donate proceeds to MWB.
- Grant Research begins

August 2013:
-Second scholarship fund becomes available.
-MWB signs up with GoodSearch, a search engine who will donate proceeds to the charity you select every time you use their site to search!
-First annual board meeting, lots of brainstorming and great ideas are born on how to better serve our community. Two new board members are inducted. Advisory counsel is put in place.
-Massage Without Borders fan page on Facebook reaches 3500 fans.

September 2013:
-Executive Director Gloria Coppola visits with the students at Florida School for Natural Health about MWB.
-2nd VP Tammy Parrish visits with a school in St. Augustine to talk about MWB.
-1st VP Shawnda Kettles visits with students at Southeastern Institute in South Carolina and chats about MWB.

October 2013:
-Two more scholarships are awarded, $1000 to a student in South Carolina and $500 to a student in Florida. Both students also received many other goodies such as DVDs, Books, and supplies from BonVital.
-Oct 29th is the one year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy.

Volunteer/Student Nakia from Tennessee displays our poster in her school

November 2013: Restructure and Board Positions
-  As you can see it has been a busy year, full of accomplishments, kindness extended by strangers, and shaping and developing Massage Without Borders as a whole. Now as the year winds down we wonder what 2014 will bring. One thing is for certain, without all of the continous support from our friends, fans, volunteers, and colleagues, we would not be where we are today.

 Thanks you to all; the ones who share our posts about practitioners in need, the ones who spread the word about our mission, the ones who encouraged us over the bumps in the road, and the ones whose generosity make our mission possible.

What will 2014 bring? No one knows, but with the support we have behind us, I am excited to find out the next step we move forward in. We ask for your continued support.

If you are interested in a board position, please send resume to massagewithoutborders@gmail.com.
Positions for treasurer, secretary, 2nd VP are open January 2014.
 Many blessings to all, thank you for a great first year, with many more to come.