Four massage therapy students have won $1,000 apiece, as recipients of Helping Hands Gifts for Growth™ grants. In addition, each winner’s school received a $1,000 grant package. All applicants were asked to complete a 100-word essay on “How as a massage therapist, my helping hands would make a difference.”

The Helping Hands Gifts for Growth™ program launched to support professional massage therapy students in their educational pursuits or endeavors to launch a massage therapy practice. The awards were announced via press release in late November.

The grant program, supported by BIOTONE and BIOFREEZE, received almost 500 applications from more than 165 massage therapy schools.

The winners are:

• Teresa J. Alger, Central Maryland School of Massage, Frederick, Maryland;

• Chadwick M. Handville, Cortiva Institute, Scottsdale, Arizona;

• Christine M. Patacsil, Institute for Massage Education/Kalamazoo Center for the Healing Arts, Kalamazoo, Michigan; and

• Mary E. Rone, National Holistic Institute, San Francisco, California.

Read the press release here.