Massage...for Peace
It’s a powerful statement, an inspiring vision, and a call to action that the Boulder College of Massage Therapy (BCMT) has taken up time and time again throughout its 35-year history. As a nonprofit massage school, our philosophy is to provide students with the diverse, hands-on experience they need to develop successful careers, while consistently giving back to the community through the healing power of touch.
Each year, BCMT students provide an average of over 6,200 hours of therapeutic touch services to individuals in need as well as organizations that serve the elderly, hospice and AIDS patients, breast cancer survivors, chronic disease sufferers, healthcare workers, rehabilitating animals, teachers, and firefighters. At Boulder Community Hospital alone, students contribute yearly on average 250 hours of therapeutic massage to patients in prenatal, postpartum, cancer, cardiac, and orthopedic care. In today’s marketplace ($1 per minute for massage), that’s worth $15,000. At 35 years, 6,200 hours a year at $60 an hour, that’s an eight-figure donation—$13,020,000—to peace.
Create Peace…Today.
Together we can create a more peaceful world…starting today. Support BCMT’s local and global outreach efforts by donating to massage for peace today. Donations are tax-deductible.
Why Support MFP?
Our goal is to extend the reach of our helping hands to those whose daily lives are impacted by suffering, pain, poverty, disease, war and conflict, and a lack of access to wellness services. Funds raised will support the growth of our service-learning program so that we can better serve the local and global community into the future.
"Massage therapy has been transformational for me personally and, more specifically, for my mother who lives with Alzheimer's disease. Touch has profoundly affected her quality-of-life at the end stages of her life. Massage has given her a joy available in few other ways. Throughout my journey at BCMT, I had a growing appreciation of touch…which gave me a joy I didn't even know existed."
--Dean Kehmeier, M.D., BCMT graduate
Local and Global Outreach Efforts
Spreading Peace Globally
Dharamsala, India
In September of 2009, 10 massage therapists travelled to Dharamsala, India with a commitment to teaching massage therapy to Tibetan refugees at Lha Charitable Trust. The trip was deemed a success with goals achieved and lives changed forever.
In the weeks following the trip we received the following letter from the Director of Lha Charitable Trust, Ngwang Rabgyal and one of Lha's founders and Board members, Neil Guidry. We feel that this letter speaks volumes about the importance of education, in this case, massage therapy education, in changing people's lives for the better.
Hello from Dharamsala,
We at Lha Charitable Trust wanted to once again thank the volunteer instructors from BCMT. Your instructors were both professional and personal. The Tibetan Refugees that received your training and our staff all express their appreciation. We all hope that our new relationship with BCMT will continue long into the future. The Tibetan People and BCMT share the mission of world peace through non-violence.
It should be mentioned that the time your volunteers spent here will have far reaching benefits. Most Tibetan Refugees arrive in India destitute, fleeing oppression. Most come from nomadic herding communities; the skills they come with are no longer helpful in gaining employ. Through massage training, many are able to find work to support them and also provide financial assistance to their families still inside Tibet who are often in dire circumstances.
Many of the Tibetan Refugees that come through our programs eventually end up in western countries. Our original mission of providing them with Language and Computer skills is certainly very helpful and necessary, yet not enough. The addition of this Massage program is offering the much needed skills and confidence necessary to begin their new lives.
We are looking forward to our next group of BCMT volunteer instructors. Hopefully, with the guidance and support of BCMT, we will be able to develop our Massage Training Program and further reach out to more of those in need.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Ngawang Rabgyal
Lha General Manager
PS For more info about Lha Charitable Trust please see www.lhasocialwork.org
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