Massage & Bodywork

March/April 2013

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"It's been quite the roller coaster ride. Up with joy, down with tears." Gloria Coppola, founder, Massage Without Borders MTs Launch Massage Without Borders to Help Colleagues in Need By Jed Heneberry On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit near Atlantic City, New Jersey, moved up the East Coast, and left a path of death and destruction in its wake. Massage therapists and bodyworkers were among those who lost everything, and they're still at work rebuilding their lives and their practices, with help from their peers. Massage Without Borders (MWB) was founded soon after the storm in order to reach massage therapists and bodyworkers who were seriously impacted. This nonprofit, grassroots effort fueled by bodyworkers has already distributed more than $10,000 in financial and product donations, including massage tables and other aid, to working therapists. Gloria Coppola, the founder of MWB, says the experience has been overwhelming. "It's been quite the roller coaster ride. Up with joy, down with tears." Coppola, owner of Massage Pro C.E. and a 2011 Massage Therapy Hall of Fame inductee, used to own a massage school in New Jersey. Once the hurricane hit, her community of former students began calling her for help—mostly on behalf of others. "People were not concerned about themselves," Coppola says. "To hear their stories and see them come together made me feel like a proud mama." www.abmp.com. See what benefits await you. 83

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