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“Massage therapists without borders” project in Quebec

The
initiative aims to improve, through massage therapy, the conditions or health
of vulnerable populations and gives priority to projects involving developing
countries and victims of natural disasters. The support can be offered directly
by providing massage, but also, for example, by teaching parents how to give
massages to their children.

The
application deadline for the 2013 project is December, 31st 2012.

The
FQM will consider all the projects taking place before December 2013. If yours
is scheduled at a later date, the FQM invites you to apply next year. All
applications should be sent to sonia.zennaf@fqm.qc.ca   in Word format. The recipient of
the grants being awarded will be acknowledged by email.

Two
grants of $2000 each, will be awarded – each of the selected projects will
receive a grant of $ 2 000.

Eligibility criteria

In
order to enter this initiative, the massage therapist must be an active member
of the FQM, both when sending the application and at the time the project will
take place.  Several registered
massage therapists can be involved in a same project. If so, the grant of $2000
will be shared among the therapists involved.

How to apply

The
FQM asks RMTs to submit a document between two and five pages in Word format.

Your
document must include all of the following elements:

• A personal
  presentation and details about your evolution in massage therapy.
• What led you to
  apply and what does the project mean for you, on a professional and human
  level.
• A description of
  the project (this part must be the most detailed) containing project
  details such as your goal, schedule, procedures, location (s), contact
  information, how many people you think you will massage (approximately),
  other sources of funding, etc. You will have to provide any relevant
  documents upon request.

Evaluation process

A
selection committee will meet in January to assess each project and announce
the winners in February 2013. Note that being outside of the country at the
time of the announcement of the winners won’t have any influence on your
chances of winning the grant.

Tips for your application

It
is important to keep the emphasis on massage therapy and to demonstrate how
your project will improve the living conditions or support people in difficult
situations.

Demonstrating
a good knowledge of the field, language, people resources, accommodation, etc.
will make you stand out from other applicants.

Basically,
what is important is to present a well-crafted application, indicating an
excellent preparation.

Winners’ obligations

When
the winners return from fulfilling their project, the FQM requires that they
make a report on their experience, provide photos/videos and stay available to
shoot a quick video about “Massage Therapist Without Borders” (the shooting
dates will be determined at the time of your return from your project).

For further information, please contact Sonia Zennaf,
Analyst and Special Projects Coordinator for the FQM at 1 800 363-9609,
extension 238.

Good
luck to everyone!