More than 20 years ago, ABMP launched EveryBody Deserves a Massage Week. We originally began this celebration to promote the philanthropic work massage therapists were doing in support of their local communities. This often involved volunteering their hands-on efforts in exchange for donations to a good cause, or sometimes the hands-on work was the gift itself, free of charge to those in need.
This year, as we sought to relaunch the program after a year’s absence due to the pandemic, something about the past program didn’t seem right. In light of both the hardships brought about by COVID-19, and with a new lens turned on racial inequalities in our country, we revamped the long-running program with a new name: Massage is for EveryBody. Though the name change may be subtle, there is significance in its rewording, heart, and mission.
As a group, we developed new guiding principles and launched ten $1,000 awards to practitioners who lived by these values in their work. We’re happy to report we were blown away by the number of submissions we received. And even more touched by the words therapists wrote about how massage has changed their lives and the lives of those they touch.
Peter works at an outpatient facility dedicated to minimizing the inequity of health-care access and delivery in underserved populations. Rachelle works with children diagnosed with sensory disorders; her focus is to help give them the tools they need to help self-regulate, which will allow them to thrive. Alyse is dedicated to volunteering at a women’s halfway house to share the healing touch of massage with women who have unresolved chronic pain that may have been the beginning of their addictions. Carrie works with Wounded Warriors and military service members and their families, helping them recover from injury or illness, or providing an outlet to release the stresses of military life. Rivhah volunteers weekly at a resource center for her community that was devastated after a mass shooting. After seeing the effects of intergenerational poverty in East Los Angeles, Nataly wanted to make massage therapy accessible to low-income community members who do not have access to conventional Western health care. Noriko works as an oncology therapist and volunteers her touch to hospice patients through the Heart Touch Project. Deckllan offers massage to the transgender community, providing safe and supportive touch, honoring gender fluidity and dysphoria. Sophia works with female athletes who have been trained to accept that their body is not their own. And after her mother-in-law suffered from a heart attack and kidney failure, Remy directed her training in reiki, acupressure, shiatsu, and self-care techniques away from the spa world in which she wished to practice toward working with her ailing family.
As you can see, their work is inspiring. “Our healing role as practitioners is most gratifying when one is able to help those in need,” wrote one participant. Another: “By working with these populations, I am also spreading awareness of career options in the massage and bodywork profession.”
We hope you are inspired by the missions and words of those above, because daily we at ABMP are inspired by the wonderful work your hands provide to millions in need.
Darren Buford
Editor-in-Chief