On February 4, 2011 we had an Open House Celebration! at the new digs 62 Elliot Street  Brattleboro, Vermont.  It was a huge success!  Many clients and community members turned out to meet the new owners and see the new place.  What a great time.

Now, the focus is on figuring out the details of how the cooperative works.  There’s lots of research and discussion ahead, but my co-owners and I have been thoroughly enjoying the process.  It’s so great to work with a group of like-minded, creative, get-things-done type of folks.

Well, that’s it for now.

Be Well.

I have been working on a special project and I’m so excited that it’s

finally time to tell you about it.

In mid-November, I heard the news that Watercourse Way, a successful

acupuncture and massage clinic located in a beautiful storefront in

downtown Brattleboro, Vermont, was closing it’s doors on January 1,

2011.

Well, some colleagues and I, who’ve been meeting weekly for the past

few years to discuss developing our small businesses, saw this as an

incredible opportunity to bring a dream into reality and got it into

our heads to buy this business and turn it into the Brattleboro

Holistic Health Center (BHHC), offering acupuncture, massage therapy,

psychotherapy, movement therapy, herbs and supplements, classes,

workshops, and more at affordable rates. BHHC is also a cooperative.

A cooperative pools its resources together to share expenses, cutting

the cost to each individual co-op member. In other words, by sharing

and working together, we can offer more services, have nicer

facilities, and offer the clients reduced prices. It’s a win-win

situation for us and our clients.

Since November, we’ve been working hard to make this vision happen and

everything has been falling into place beautifully. We’re coming down

the home stretch!

Right now, we’re in the final phase of applying for a modest loan to

cover the cost of purchasing the business plus six months rent and we

need your help to do it. In order to make this loan happen, we need

some collateral.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY COLLATERAL? We need some folks to promise a

contribution between $1,000 and $15,000 to the Cooperative Fund of New

England (CFNE) where it will sit accruing interest until we pay back

the loan. Then, whoever has made a contribution will get back what

they put in plus interest.

WHAT IS THE COOPERATIVE FUND OF NEW ENGLAND? The CFNE lends money to

a wide range of co-ops and non-profit groups that share their vision

of equality, justice and social responsibility. They’ve been around

for 35 years and they have an incredible rate of loans repaid: 98.9%!

The money you contribute to the Brattleboro Holistic Health Center

throught CFNE will be working towards socially responsible and

sustainable business practices.

CAN I MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION? Yes, you can. If making a tax

deductible donation works better for you, your money is donated to the

CFNE and still counts towards BHHC’s collateral.

Can you contribute? Please email me, Libby Garofalo, or call me at

(802) 451-9745 for more details. I’d be happy to go over our business

plan with you and answer your questions.

PLEASE ACT NOW. We need your promise by midnight on MONDAY, JANUARY 3rd.

TELL YOUR FRIENDS. Please pass this on to anyone you know who wants

to support our local Brattleboro Holistic Health Center or anyone who

wants to invest their money in a socially responsible cooperative

fund.

Thank you so much!

Libby Garofalo

(802) 451-9745

This year there are three easy ways to order and pay for massage gift certificates.

THREE WAYS TO ORDER & PAY:

1) IN PERSON : You can pick up your gift certificate directly from me at your next appointment and pay in CASH or CHECK.

2) BY PHONE : Call me and I will drop the gift certificates in the mail to you or the recipient. You may then send me a check in the mail made payable to LIBBY GAROFALO and sent to 167 MAIN STREET SUITE 410 BRATTLEBORO, VT 05301 or you may pay by debit or credit card by selecting the session number and price you wish and paying through PayPal.

3) ONLINE : By using the PayPal buttons and filling out the GIFT CERTIFICATE FORM below for each gift certificate you would like, you can arrange to receive the gift cards in any way that is convenient for you.

I hope that this holiday season brings you many happy memories, quality time with your friends and family, peace and health.

Now is the perfect time to take care of yourself.  Even a little bit of time for yourself can make a big difference.  I like to get a massage, run a hot bath, take a long walk in our beautiful landscape, cook up rich nourishing meals, drink tea, and appreciate this beautiful time of year.

What do you do to take care of yourself in the fall?

For the sake of clarity, any comments you make to the blog will likely end up posted for the public to see. If you would like your comment to remain private, please email me at libby@libbygarofalo.com.

Next to come is my email list where you can sign up to receive special announcements and discounts, a newsletter, and links to information and resources to improve your health. Keep an eye out on the website, facebook, and your email account (if I have your email). Once the email list is up and running, I will notify you one more time by email. After that, you will need to subscribe in order to receive massage related emails.
Thank you again for all your support! I look forward to bringing you more and more health and wellness.