2025 Community Service Grants Announced

Posted:Monday, September 15, 2025

Massage Therapy Foundation Awards 2025 Community Service Grants

(Evanston, IL, September 15, 2025) The Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF) announces the award of three Community Service Grants for the 2025 granting cycle. MTF’s Community Service Grants bring the benefits of massage therapy to people who would otherwise not have access. The grantees are:

Compassionate Touch for Veterans with Dementia
Heartfelt Community, Gloucester, VA
$5,000
This grant sponsored by a gift from Biotone

Heartfelt Community’s Warrior Connections program will provide Compassionate Touch to veterans with dementia at Walter Reed Nursing Home in Gloucester, VA. Over six months, 14 veterans will receive 30-minute sessions twice a month, delivered by two Licensed Massage Therapists. The program also includes a 2-hour workshop to train staff and caregivers. Veterans are at higher risk for dementia, and touch has been shown to reduce agitation, anxiety, and stress.

Massage Therapy as a Therapeutic Tool for Children with Autism
Djeca Svjetlosti, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
$5,000
This grant sponsored by a gift from Biotone

This project will provide 140 therapeutic massages to 7 children with autism and their 7 parents in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina over 4–6 months. Each participant will receive 10 half-hour massages. The goal is to support both children—who face sensory, emotional, and social challenges—and their caregivers, who often lack support and face financial hardship. Massage therapy is shown to reduce anxiety, aggression, and sleep problems in children with autism, and offers much-needed relief and energy restoration for parents.

Wholistic Healthcare Project 2025-2026
BEAT AIDS Coalition Trust, San Antonio, TX
$5,000

BEAT AIDS, a BIPOC-led organization serving marginalized communities affected by HIV/AIDS, implements the Wholistic Healthcare Project 2025–2026 to integrate massage therapy, mindfulness, and wellness education into monthly support group sessions for women living with or at risk of HIV/AIDS in Bexar County, TX. The project will host 12 monthly sessions, reaching 100–150 individuals per month, including guests. Each session will include an educational component followed by 20-minute massages provided by two therapists. The program aims to improve mental health, reduce stress and pain, support immune function, and enhance quality of life for participants. A curriculum will be developed and shared online to expand its reach. Surveys will track participants’ progress. The program builds on prior massage therapy success and addresses deep systemic needs, including poverty, stigma, and health inequities in the local HIV-positive population.

About the Massage Therapy Foundation

The Massage Therapy Foundation is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to supporting scientific research, education, and community service within the massage therapy profession. The Foundation publishes an open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal and provides educational resources for massage therapists, educators, and students. MTF fosters international scientific collaboration through grants, resources, training, and services.

For more information, contact: Teri Mayo, Executive Director, 847.905.1520 or tmayo@massagetherapyfoundation.org