2 massage schools win $2500 grants for community service

BIOTONE awarded the Potomac Massage Training Institute (PMTI) in Washington, D.C., and MTTI-WellSpring in Kansas City, Missouri the annual BIOTONE Community Outreach Award. Each school will receive a $2,500 grant from BIOTONE in recognition of its volunteer program in 2009 to provide massage therapy to members of the community.

“We congratulate these two institutions for the contribution to their communities,” said Jean Shea, BIOTONE founder and CEO. “Massage therapy is about caring for and helping individuals. This empathy inspires a strong spirit of volunteerism among our industry professionals.”

The BIOTONE Community Outreach Award, established in 2007, rewards two massage therapy schools each year for helping their community, providing students with unique, hands-on training experiences and advancing public awareness of the value of massage therapy for a range of healing needs. In making its selection, BIOTONE evaluates the impact of a school’s program on the community, benefits to recipients and ability to meet stated goals.

PMTI

Under its community outreach program, PMTI provides its students with opportunities to work with people in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia who have never been exposed to massage or are unable to receive regular massage therapy. Level-one students provide touch therapy to residents of local nursing homes and retirement communities. Level-two students provide massage to staff and program participants of such organizations as Montgomery County Health and Human Services, Adult Protection Services, Whitman Walker Clinic D.C., The Austin Center for Health and Living, The Children’s Inn at National Institute of Health, Washington Cancer Institute, New Endeavors, Rockville City Hall and Shady Grove Hospital.

“PMTI feels that community involvement and outreach are important if we want to remain part of the community that supports us”, said Kimberly Lovius, PMTI executive director. “We feel it is important to instill thoughts of community service and giving in our students so that they may go out and not only be productive members of the massage community but remember that the work they do is about serving and connecting with people.”

MTTI-WellSpring

In its community outreach program, MTTI-WellSpring provided massage to a patrol unit of the Kansas City Police Department that works in one of the city’s most dangerous and crime-filled zones. The officers in the unit experience huge amounts of stress and sit in their vehicles for long periods of time.

“We wanted to reduce the police officers’ stress levels, enhance their ability to relax and work on their tight muscles,” said Jennipher Walters, MTTI-WellSpring marketing director. “As a secondary goal, we also wanted them to feel appreciated in their community for the hard work they do.

“The massage therapy students who performed the massages were greatly affected by the program. Each student involved remarked how important the community service project was to them and how it was nice to give back to these officers who protect us every day.”

About BIOTONE

BIOTONE, headquartered in San Diego, California, is the leading manufacturer of quality massage oils, cremes, lotions and gels as well as spa body and face and foot treatment products. Founded in 1980, BIOTONE is a family-run, woman-owned business. The company sells its products in the U.S. and internationally.