Boulder College of Massage Therapy, a long time friend and colleague to elephant, is up to some serious good.

Below, via BCMT, is the good word on the good deeds they’re doing these days. Their mission for peace combines massage therapy training programs in Dharamsala, India, while also serving communities close to home. You go BCMT!

The inspiration:

It takes a college of massage therapists to create a world of peace, and the BCMT village – of alumni – has grown to over 4000. One graduate (1995), Maria August, has inspired the College to take its mission of peace overseas. Last fall, Maria founded a massage therapy-training program for Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala, India in affiliation with local nonprofit Lha Charitable Trust. Refugees often have a hard time finding a source of income, and graduates of this program will increase their quality of life through learning a skill. The College is sponsoring a 10-day trip to Dharamsala this fall. During this time, we’ll share our years of training and professional experience with the students and graduates of Maria’s program. We’ll also lend a helping hand to support Lha’s other vocational training programs: English language and computer literacy.

Our downpayment on peace:

BCMT has launched a massage for peace fundraising campaign to support and expand on our global and local outreach efforts. 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 as well as other peace efforts throughout the world. Our fundraising goal for this first year is conservative: $25,000. With your help, we’ll be able to sponsor eight massage for peace ambassadors in our first global outreach effort to Dharamsala, India.  You’ll also be helping us with our downpayment on peace-a financial foundation from which we can better serve the local and global community into the future.

Our donation to peace:

The Boulder College of Massage Therapy (BCMT) has taken up time and time again throughout its 33-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 up to 10,000 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 33 years, 10,000 hours a year at $60 an hour, that’s an eight-figure donation-$19,800,000-to peace.

In 2009, BCMT also donated $1,000 to the Global Mala Project with proceeds from massage for peace t-shirts.