“Everyone’s story was so selfless. It wasn’t about anything but
people dedicated to giving,” says Judy Stahl, an Arizona mas-
sage therapist who treated participants of the San Diego walk
on Nov. 22, 2009. “People were incredibly passionate.”
As a breast cancer survivor, Stahl knows firsthand the
importance of these walks and of those who support the partic-
ipants. She was one of more than 300 members of the Ameri-
can Massage Therapy Association who donated their time and
talent last year to provide 5,364 walkers with 10-minute chair
massages during the 15-event series nationwide benefiting Susan
G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest grassroots network
of breast cancer survivors and activists with a mission to end
breast cancer.
From July through November 2009, AMTA was the official
provider of chair massage therapists for the newly created
Energizer Live it Up! Lounge, a traveling pink oasis set up at
the event camps with games, giveaways and complimentary
chair massages donated by AMTA members.
“By providing massage, we’re not only helping these walkers
relax and relieve their tired and aching muscles,” says Stahl,
immediate past president of the Evanston-based AMTA. “We
also are helping them recharge so they can maintain their spirit
throughout their 60-mile journey.”
RECHARGING WALKERS
Energizer previously offered complimentary chair massages at
Susan G. Komen events to 2,000 to 4,000 walkers, includ-
ing survivors and those walking in honor of loved ones to raise
funds for breast cancer research. Finding volunteers to staff
events was quite an undertaking, however.
GIVING BACK
In 2007, AMTA surveyed its nearly 57,000 members on their
loyalty to the association — why they are members and what
they want to receive from their membership. According to this
survey, giving back to the community was the No. 1 reason
members described their respective chapters as delivering
“high-quality experiences.” Members expressed interest in
events that would entail a short time commitment — such as
events impacting a community in one day, like 5K runs for
The demand was strong for the AMTA’s complimentary massages during the Seattle, Wash. Susan G. Komen for the Cure 3-Day Walk event, held Sept. 11-13, 2009.
