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.

Fall 2013 Scholarship Announcement

   All of us at Massage Without Borders would like to congratulate Kaytee Thomas of the International Spa Institute in South Carolina for winning our $1,000 scholarship! Kaytee will also be receiving an Oakworks table, BonVital product, books from FA Davis Publishers, and a Massage Magazine insurance policy. We also congratulate Jennifer Tescher from Florida College of Natural Health on winning a $500 scholarship, along with a basket of helpful learning tools and products valued over $250! We hope that these ladies continue to enjoy their education and develop their skills to become outstanding MTs, and can experience some relief with having less student debt to be concerned about.

Kaytee Thomas, our $1000 Scholarship Winner

International Spa Institute owner Linda Beach and Florida College of Natural Health Director Linda Debarros are very proud of these students! Interested in applying for a scholarship? Keep an eye out on our blog, website, and Facebook page for when we will be accepting applications for next season's scholarship, and our next winner could be you!

Interview w/ Pamela Rapiñan

Pamela Rapiñan, a Massage Therapist in WA, was cooking at home one day when suddenly she became unconscious. When she awoke, she had burns all over her body. She had no health insurance and did not qualify for Medicaid. Her friends reached out to Massage Without Borders, and we set up a way for people to donate to Pamela's medical fund. Approximately $2200 was raised in about a month. We contacted Pamela to see how she is recovering and how she felt about her situation and the help that was given, and here is what she had to say...

How did you learn about Massage Without Borders and why did you reach out to MWB for help?

"Barbara Heard and Collette Wilson contacted Gloria [and told her about my situtation, asking if there was anything MWB could do to help. Gloria reached out and MWB set up a way for people to donate money to me via the Adopt an MT campaign]."

What kind of assistance were you looking for? What kind of assistance were you given through MWB?

"I was not looking for anything specifically, but I found prayers and words of kindness from all over the world, and amazing kindness from Anatomy in Motion who also helped MWB raise funds too. [Approximately] $2200 was raised."

How has the assistance you received from MWB impacted your life?

"It restored my faith in good things; I would have never been able to pay any bills [without the assistance from MWB]...I make too much income for state assistance and have not worked since the accident."

What has your experience made you most thankful for?

"I am most thankful for friends and random acts of kindness from fellow massage therapists."

Do you think Massage Without Borders is a valuable resource for our comunity? Why?

"Yes! Gloria was phenomenal, and MWB (Along with Anatomy in Motion) really stepped up when my friends and family could not. I am very grateful for all of you!"

Have you become a volunteer or plan to in the future?
"I don't plan to currently, but I will give back to those around me in the form of healing through massage."

Anything else to add?

"The detox off pain meds has been really awful and the continued support in prayer and kind words from my new friends all around the world has been so amazing during my healing! You really find out in crisis who your real friends are and I am forever grateful for the ones who gave tremendous time and energy at home helping me as I recover!

I still haven't figured out why the universe wanted me to go through this life lesson and am fighting hard daily to get back to 'Supersonic Pam' so I can continue helping people heal.

Be in the moment, choose happy, and notice beauty everyday and be thankful that you can."


Pamela after the burns in the hospital Pamela Now  

Interview w/ Julie Bunnell

   Many of you might remember Julie from our previous posts on our blog and on Facebook. Julie is a self-employed massage therapist who found out she needed emergency brain surgery after getting frequent migraines and seizures.
    Massage without Borders set up a fundraiser and raised approximately $8,000 towards her medical expenses. Julie's surgery went well and the tumor they biopsied came back benign. She missed two months of work but thanks to all the generous donations from everyone she now does not have the burden of debt weighing on her shoulders. Julie talked with us recently about her experience and how grateful she is for the kindness of strangers and all the help she was given through Massage Without Borders. Here's what she had to say:

  How did you learn about Massage Without Borders and why did you reach out to MWB for help?
"My good friend Robin Lawder actually reached out to MWB for me. We both knew Gloria [the executive director for Massage Without Borders] and Robin contacted her the same day I found out I needed emergency brain surgery. Right before I was moved from Liberal, Kansas to Wichita for surgery I was told that they had set-up a fundraiser for me [on GoFundMe.com]."

  What kind of assistance were you looking for and what were you given through MWB?
"I had no idea financially what monetary amount was needed, and I did not expect anything. What was amazing was the amount of strangers that were contributing money and reading all the well-wishes. It really made me reassess my own standards of generosity.I was blown away by all the support, and MWB raised [approx. $8,000] for me."

  How has the assistance you received from MWB impacted your life?
"Hugely; I received charity from local hospitals and family, but there were still bills...the assistance I received from Massage Without Borders helped me come out even, meaning I have no debt. All that I lost was time off of work. I had never had health problems before, so I didn't know what to expect financially [for medical costs]. Seeing the hospital bills was terrifying, but having the money in the bank to pay them took a huge load off."

  What has your experience made you most thankful for?
"I have lots to be thankful for! I am thankful for the generosity and kindness of strangers, for the donations and pages of comments that were all very humbling and moving to read, and of course I am thankful for being cancer-free and having my health...but most of all I am thankful for not being in debt. Thanks to MWB I don't have huge bills overhead or have to worry about declaring bankruptcy, which was a very real possibility."

  Do you think Massage Without Borders is a valuable resource for our community? Why?
Yes! We all [as massage therapists] understand what it is like to have no insurance and depend on every client for your income and the financial uncertainty that comes with that. Being able to ask for prayers or energy and to read all of these well-wishes, how can you not be affected positively? The connections are also valuable; to be able to reach a lot of people instantly as a community of support. When someone is in a scary time, [a resource like this] is pretty invaluable.


  Have you become a volunteer or plan to in the future?
"I definitely plan to become a volunteer, I just don't know where to start to be honest. I am trying to figure out how to volunteer my time from the middle of nowhere. Trying to figure out where I would fit [in the organization]. I want to volunteer; this all has definitely changed the way I donate and view generosity towards others. Recently I donated to Pamela Raven [another recipient of assistance from MWB] and I never would have expected to be able to be in a position where I could do that today if not for the help I received."


  Anything else you would like to add?
"Overall I have been more positive since it all happened. I have been so much more grateful, holding onto that feeling in the moment of "It'll all be okay", and that is an awesome moment."

Remember, you can volunteer from anywhere! There are many things you can do from your computer just by sharing our events and website. You can help with fundraising events or schedule a small one in your local town. You can get involved in whatever capacity works for you. Contact us for more details at vp2mwb@gmail.com!

2013 Humanitarian Award

Congratulations to MWB for winning the 2013 Aunty Margaret Humanitarian Award for their compassionate service to our colleagues!

James Waslaski presented the award to former 1st VP Kathy J Burley earlier this month.

Scholarship Announcement!

   All of us here at Massage Without Borders are happy to announce our first scholarship winners! Amanda Van Buskirk from Dayton School of Medical Massage in Ohio won a $1000 scholarship, and Theresa Hyman from Body Care School of the Healing Arts in New Mexico won a $500 scholarship. Both ladies also are receiving a student massage table package from Oakworks! Congratulations to both of you, may the scholarships lessen your financial burden as you embark on this journey to become wonderful, knowledgeable, healing bodyworkers! Enjoy everything your education has to offer you!

Theresa Hyman receiving her $500 check with her school director Veronica Hernandez

Special thanks to Oakworks, Massage Book, and Bon Vital for contributing to this scholarship mission, and also thank you to everyone who participated in the National Event raising funds so we can make these scholarship opportunities happen. :) We now have fall scholarships available! Interested in applying? Just head over to our website for more details and an application.

Call to Action: Pamela Raven, a fellow MT in need

   Pamela Raven is a massage therapist from Washington. Three weeks ago she was cooking at home when suddenly she fainted. Twenty minutes later she woke up to burns all over body. She now has to have extensive skin grafting done. As horrifying as this is, it could happen to any of us. Pamela does not have health insurance and does not qualify for Medicaid, so she has to rely on money out of her own pocket for all the expenses she is about to have, and the bills will be adding up quickly.

Pamela before accident doing pet therapy

Pamela post-accident

 

   

  
   Massage Without Borders is a newer 501(c)3 non-profit so we do not have funds readily available at this time to cover her expenses. However, we also do not want Pamela to have this heavy financial burden to deal with when she gets home from the hospital either, and will use what resources and opportunities we have to raise funds to help her. So we look to you, our volunteers and supporters, to help us by "adopting" this massage therapist. As we have said before, every penny counts, so whether you can spare $5 or $50, the relief and overwhelming joy that a person feels when they know they're community is stepping up to assist them is priceless. Take it from Julie Bunnell, the MT who needed emergency brain surgery a few months ago...MWB had so many amazing supporters who jumped in and total donations were approximately $8,000. We just received this letter from Julie a few days ago: 

"It is hard to sum up how big of an impact Massage Without Borders has had on my life. It is remarkable that a few people can network and raise thousands of dollars in a few days, but they did that and more. When you are sick and have hundreds of people rally around you financially, and hundreds more praying for you, it is impossible to not have your outlook on life shift; because of the tremendous moral support I received, I had a much easier recovery...and because of MWB, I will have a much quicker financial recovery from this unexpected ordeal as well.  It seems cliche to say that my faith in humanity has been affirmed, but that is the truth. I can never say enough thank you's to the people who donated to me--a perfect stranger. All I can say is that for the rest of my life I will follow their example. Thank you, all. Julie Bunnell, LMT"

   

   This is why we do what we do. This is why Massage Without Borders exists. Julie's words show us just how much of an impact you can have on someone you have never even met, and you can feel the gratitude coming from her letter. 

   If you are interested in adopting a MT in need and, more specifically, helping Pamela out financially as she recovers, you can donate directly via our website under Adopt an MT. Please write "Pamela Fund" in the comment section of your donation. Each of us may be one person, but we all know the power that can happen when we all come together. At the time I am writing this, we have approx $900 in donations, in just a couple days time, but as we know medical bills are expensive and we still have a ways to go. With just a few clicks on our website you can help us get closer to our goal, and most importantly give hope and light to someone who needs it.