Dear Supporter of Massage and Social Justice–
You may know me publicly as a local Seattle-area science and massage educator, a role in which I have to carefully and dispassionately withhold or suspend my emotional investment when evaluating evidence about massage, no matter where that evidence leads. Today, however, I am putting on my "advocate" hat instead: to take up the banner of vulnerable populations and to make you aware of a cause I care passionately about. I am writing to you now because we share a common interest in therapeutic massage, scientific research, and social justice, and I want to ask your help by joining me in the development and operation of a right-livelihood project, the Center for Massage Against Trauma and Torture, to be based in the Seattle area.
In our current economic climate, many very good causes are suffering from the inability to find funding, yet the need for such services is more pronounced than ever, as a result in part of those very same larger forces which brought about the crisis. Therapeutic massage for people living with the physical and psychological after-effects of trauma is definitely one of these causes for which the need is increasing. I want to make massage available and accessible to those who need its benefits most, at a time when the challenges confronting us in that goal are more daunting than ever. So accomplishing these goals is going to require even more entrepreneurialism and innovation than ever before, and that’s exactly the spirit in which I am approaching the founding of the Center, its services to the communities of its stakeholders, and the creation of my career as its Director.
As you may know already, my passion for and involvement in massage treatment for survivors of trauma and torture goes back to the early 1990s. I worked performing massage as part of an interdisciplinary team (physicians, psychologists, nurses, mid-level practitioners, interpreters, and acupuncturists, among others) at the former Refugee Clinic (now International Medicine) at Harborview Medical Center from 1991-1998. During that time I also worked with a young Uzbek man who came here for reconstructive surgery after a horrific accident in his homeland. He has publicly identified me on many occasions as his massage therapist and given me permission to speak about our work (otherwise, I would never violate HIPAA regulations by disclosing his identity!) and you can read about our massage work together in preparation for his surgeries in
the following Google Books online excerpt from his autobiography.
After this foundational community effort, I then went back to school to complete my PhD in Biomedical and Health Informatics in order to lay the groundwork for such a research project. As you see, my commitment to this cause goes back almost two decades, and now is the right time to put all that foundational effort into action. There will never be a better time than the present to get this underway.
To make this vision a reality, I am looking for 100 people who share my commitment and my passion to the cause of fighting trauma with massage to help by donating $100.00 apiece—less than the cost of 2 hourlong massages at prevailing Seattle rates. Anyone who participates in this way will become a permanent member of the Founders’ Inner Circle of the Center for Massage Against Trauma and Torture project.
I'd like to emphasize the use of the funds raised in this way for the exploration and development of professional collaborations, as well as for further fundraising and grant-writing efforts. In order to address such a huge problem, we need teammates, colleagues, and collaborators, and I want to be very clear to potential funders that we are approaching this problem with clarity, rigor, and discipline, as well as our commitment to social justice. It's going to require a fresh, innovative approach, as well as transparency, flexibility, and resourcefulness to make a real difference in the new environment we are operating in, and I want to be up-front about that aspect of the fund drive.
The $10,000 raised will be used for underwriting the following purposes and deliverables:
- Development and presentation of an operations plan for the research, service, education, and outreach components of the Center’s mission;
- Filing of all appropriate papers and licenses to permit operations in the appropriate localities;
- Filing of a SCOR (Small Corporate Offering Registration) per Washington State regulatory guidelines in order to raise operating capital to begin operations in late 2009 or early 2010;
- Development of a continuing education curriculum regarding massage and brain injury for local massage practitioners;
- Development of a service outreach pilot program to Seattle-area refugee populations affected by war, genocide, torture, and other trauma;
- Development of a service outreach pilot program to Seattle-area returning wounded veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, living with the aftereffects of traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal-cord injury (SCI), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD);
- Exploration and development of professional collaboration in the academic, governmental, and non-governmental organizational sectors to promote creative synergy and make our efforts go further;
- Literature review of relevant scientific and social scientific evidence-based literature, published in an open-access Web-based venue that anyone can freely access.
Since the Center is not set up as a philanthropic 501(c)3 organization, I cannot offer you a tax deduction for your donation at this time; what I *can* offer you instead are the following bonus incentives, which you get as an original member of the Founders’ Inner Circle of the Center for Massage Against Trauma and Torture:
- Invitation to a brunch with no-host bar (meaning I provide the food, juice, and soft drinks, but you pay for your own alcohol :) at Salty’s on Alki, date to be announced, but no later than the Thanksgiving season 2009, to review progress to date and to evaluate upcoming plans;
- A gift of handcrafted jewelry (earrings, bracelet, brooch, or a similar piece), deliverable by Thanksgiving 2009 or an original stained-glass art piece, deliverable by June 15, 2010;
- Weekly status reports, beginning in August, about the progress and operations of the project;
- An annual private meeting with me to answer any questions you may have, and to update you on the project's progress and status;
- Invitations to the project's continuing education outreach monthly series, beginning in August. Topics are still being decided upon, but are likely to contain such discussions as "Reviewing Resilience", "Plasticity and the Adult Brain," "Dopamine Neurons and Motivational Signals," "Massage in Infants with Brain Injuries," and similar subjects.
I would welcome you as a colleague, confidant, and mentor in this mission, and hope to hear from you soon. As you see, I am eager to get this project launched, which is why I am offering so many incentives to original members, in order to get the seed money to begin the process. The need is urgent, and I want to bring this about yesterday!
Please do not hesitate to contact me, either with any questions or further information that you need, or to commit with your donation to becoming one of the Founders' Inner Circle. I look forward to hearing from you, and to working with you to bring about a bit of right livelihood by making the benefits of massage accessible and available for survivors of trauma and torture who are now living in our community.
Thank you for considering this proposal. Together, we can do this!
All the best,
Ravensara S. Travillian, PhD, LMP
Director, Center for Massage Against Trauma and Torture project
P.O. Box 70523
Seattle, WA 98127
email: massage.against.trauma.and.torture@gmail.com OR miri.scor@gmail.com
