December

Ontario MTs help feed the hungry

When the board of the Ontario Massage Therapist Association (OMTA) met earlier this year to decide how to focus the province's annual Massage Therapy Awareness Week, one association member's suggestion stood out: Contribute to area food banks.

More than 320,000 Ontarians are served by food banks each month, and since 2001 the number of people who use food banks has increased by 21.5 percent, according to Ontario Association of Food Banks Director Adam Spence. A variety of factors, including increased energy costs and the loss of many manufacturing jobs, are behind the rise in food-bank use, he said.

The OMTA board decided that partnering with food banks would be "a great way to help out and help others in our communities while still promoting massage therapy" during the awareness week Oct. 17-23, said OMTA Executive Director Adam Parr.

The campaign included public-outreach efforts by OMTA chapters at malls, grocery stores and businesses, which raised approximately $5,000 (Canadian). In exchange for a food-bank donation, each donor received a seated massage.

More than 1,200 OMTA members also brought the campaign into their offices and clinics by asking their clients to donate to hunger relief across Ontario. The amount raised by that arm of the campaign was not known as of press time.

"That these people involved in health and wellness are extending their reach to help those who are less fortunate is incredible," said Spence.

— Karen Menehan