Spa Charity
Sharing from the Heart

By Karrie Osborn

Charity — even outside of the religious context from which it was born, the word symbolizes a whole life, a kindness, a compassion, a consideration. When we take the word and throw it into action, it can do and become amazing things. Charity can rebuild a life, rebuild a community, rebuild a body, even rebuild a heart. And, like all intrinsically “pure” action, it’s something we feel good in doing, often bringing a new dimension or depth to our lives. It’s a spirited action that comes not from the brain, but the heart.

For those in the world of massage and bodywork, the charity we give can create a snowball of well-being in the communities that need it most. While many spas across the country have long ago adopted a philanthropic thread in their business fabric, the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina and the Southeast Asian tsunami disaster spawned a flurry of spa establishments to ask, like the rest of us, what can we do to help? What was once an outpouring of empathy has turned into something more. A new “movement of charity” has begun as spa owners are looking to give back.

An Idea Not So New
Leaders in the spa world have long called for their healthful bastions in the oasis of this often crazy world to be more than playgrounds for the rich and famous. All spas should have a universal message of love, compassion, tolerance, regeneration of body, mind, and spirit, believed Alex Szekely, whose family was instrumental in pioneering the American spa movement when they opened Rancho La Puerta in 1940 and Golden Door in 1958.

Considered by many to be the key reason behind the success of the spa industry, Szekely was one of a few like-minded spa leaders who wanted to bring a sense of humanity into the spa environment. Said Szekely in a 2001 interview, “At a spa, it doesn’t matter how much money you have or who you are. It’s more back to the basics of can you relate to other human beings in a personal, not positional, way.”¹

One of his dreams, wrote Cornell professor Mary Tabacchi, Ph.D, in a memorial written after Szekely’s death in 2002, was for those who had never been to a spa to have that opportunity and experience “this celebration of life.”² Szekely thought of spas as spiritual businesses, and his hallmark view of the industry in this vein left behind an indelible framework, particularly during his leadership of the International Spa Association (ISPA).

Says friend, colleague, and competitor Jerry Cohen, “Alex’s contributions to the spa industry are well-documented. More importantly than those spa contributions are Alex’s constant reminders as to the purpose of our being. He never let us forget about the heart and soul of our industry. Not just by words but by his actions.”³

“It was just part of his makeup,” says spa industry leader Deborah Szekely of her son’s philanthropy. He felt spa therapists not only had an opportunity, but a responsibility, to help people, she says. It’s a philosophy the Szekely family taught early on.

“We’re in the business of giving,” she explains. “It’s not just an 8-to-5 job.” Deborah, who still heads the famous Rancho La Puerta, says all of her therapists are involved in their communities in some philanthropic way. “You can’t be in a community without being part of it,” she says. “You have to be involved — it’s part of being a person.” Deborah says it’s the nature of a good therapist to be a good giver. “And,” she says, “I think it makes them better therapists.”

Finding Focus
The Day Spa Association’s executive director, Hannelore Leavy, says the charity “trend” has been there all along, but is finally finding focus today. “Spa therapists are nurturing and caring people by nature, otherwise they wouldn’t be therapists,” she says. Giving of their talents is a natural gift, and making people feel better is the result.

Having run a charity page on the Day Spa Association’s website for a half dozen years, Leavy felt further compelled to inspire others with ideas and places to go in search of a charitable cause. Her newest mission? Building interest in Spa Care, a newly organized foundation to serve the spa industry’s charitable needs. The mission of Spa Care is to organize and manage industry-wide participation in community and national charitable activities. The objective is to streamline charitable efforts within the spa community and act as a resource for those who want to create their own charitable path.

Launched at the Day Spa Expo in early February, organizers behind the Spa Care program said the initial response has been positive, but there’s much work to be done before it’s off and running.

Leavy says there is so much the spa industry can do when it comes to charity, the ideas are endless. And for those who’ve been traumatized by everything from war to natural disasters, having a safe place to breath quietly and peacefully and to be touched in a nurturing way is powerful. “The spas have that gift to give,” Leavy says. “It’s a very special gift, an opportunity to help someone ... not everybody has this opportunity, but we do.”

Linda Brewer and her Uniquely U program for rehabilitative cosmetology programs will also be part of the Spa Care undertaking, working as the catalyst for it all and giving information to spas on the process of charity, even matching spa efforts with organizations that need donors. Instead of having to reinvent the wheel each time a spa wants to host a fundraiser, donate time, or do any number of charitable events, Spa Care will provide a template to pull it all together — find volunteers, pick a charity, write a press release, etc.

The unspoken benefit to giving, Brewer says, is what it brings back. “All of us have a goodness in us, and we want to treat others how we’d want to be treated.” But a secondary benefit to giving, she says, is the goodwill it creates. For each person you touch, she has a circle of friends and loved ones who’ll think you’re a hero for helping one of their own. “Once you’ve given them a caring experience, they go back and tell their family, their church-goers, their friends ... now you have a group that considers you a qualified professional.”

One on One
Monique Iacobacci, director of Experience Life Spa and Salon in New Jersey, says she’s been doing charity work at a personal level for years. It seemed natural, then, to harness the hearts and talent around her and get her spa involved as well. Iacobacci has focused her charitable deeds mostly around battered women’s shelters and finds it highly rewarding.

She adopts shelters for a period of time, treating residents to mini spa days, as well as giving them access to services at the spa under the protective swathe of anonymity. Events at the shelter are usually set up in a rec room where a few therapists join her in offering services like a foot massage or a class on how to do makeup, in addition to loading them up with an armful of free cosmetic products and samples. “It’s to help get them back on their feet a little bit,” she says, reminding us that most of these women don’t even have a toothbrush to their name, typically leaving the abusive situation with nothing but the shirts on their backs.

The second part of the spa’s gift is service at the spa, where women from the shelter are given “gift certificates” to choose one of several services, including massage, facials, and pedicures. Iacobacci says it’s done at the leisure of the women and it’s done anonymously, so it’s a safe way for them to come out into the world again. She must obviously limit the volunteering therapists to females, but even with that, many of the women are scared and scarred ... some unable to tolerate even the most nurturing touch. But for those who can, they love it.

Working with this clientele required getting through a lot of red tape, but Iacobacci says it’s well worth it. “You can see it in their eyes,” she says. “They feel like they’re human again, like they’re women again. They feel like they’re normal. It gives them some self-esteem and self-respect.”

A bodyworker herself, Iacobacci says the hands-on work is the best part of her charitable giving. “I thank God for it and feel blessed that I can do it. It inspires me and keeps me working forward.” Offering safe, nurturing touch to these frightened women is something that reinvigorates Iacobacci’s work and keeps her interested in the process. “It gets very boring when it’s all about me.”

She says that’s why she’s excited about Spa Care and hopes others are intrigued by it as well. “There’s not as much unity in this industry as there should be,” she says. “It’s been all about us claiming our stake, building our businesses. We’re healing people on a singular level, but we need to heal on a national level. People need to step out and take responsibility for the power they have.”

Iacobacci says she’s encouraging her colleagues to find out how they can be part of Spa Care. “It’s something to be proud of in this industry and something that will positively affect the industry as a whole,” she says. “On a personal level, it’s the reason why we probably went into this business to begin with. Go back to your roots and be grateful you can offer these gifts.”

References
1 Alex Szekely’s ISPA Legacy. Pulse. 2003 January/February 2003: 26.

2 Tabacchi, Mary. Alex Szekely: Everyone’s best friend. Pulse. 2003 January/February: 26.

3 Daily Business Report. San Diego Metropolitan. 2002 November 1. http://metro.sandiegometro.com/dbr/index.php?dbrID=155. Accessed February 2006.

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