Health, Wellness, & Giving Back: Marissa Hawkins
Marissa Hawkins, the Massage Envy franchise business owner, offers not just membership-based health and wellness services, but also a helping hand through non-profit organizations and fundraising. In February 2020, Massage Envy partnered with two local companies, Learn with Socrates, an online personalized learning solution for elementary school students,, and Brite Star World Education, publisher of thousands of children’s books and videos teaching important life skills.. Together they created a book drive for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders for the summer. Hawkins explains, “At the end of the [school] year, teachers come out of pocket for gifts for their students. We gave [teachers] options between three book topics, science, animals, and life skills.” The teachers can select which book to give to each student depending on their individual personality and interests. In addition, each book recipient would receive free access to the Brite Star Socrates Learning Platform for one year.
“Focus on the good because the good will get better.” -Marissa Hawkins
Each donor bought a number of books at $5 each and included a personalized message to the recipient. Hawkins mentions that donor and UFC president, Dana White’s message was, “The UFC loves you. I hope you enjoy the book.” Other donors include Patrick Kobielsky of Pacific Sunbelt Mortgage, Gaudin Porsche, and more. The drive was able to raise 4,000 books in just 45 days. With each book, the Socrates learning platform was also provided at no cost for the children to use throughout the summer. Hawkins gives insight on her motivation for the drive, “Everything I do is about tying people together. It takes a village to raise kids.”
With Governor Sisolak mandating shutdowns of all non-essential businesses in March 2020, Hawkins confesses, “To consider us non-essential was a real blow.” Many customers are victims of injury or health issues and rely on massage services for the alleviation of pain and discomfort, which for them is essential. In efforts to stay connected during a time when so many people were alone, Hawkins and her team made courtesy health check calls to members. Unfortunately, closing the locations also put a pause on the book drive and school closures led to a delay in distributing the books, which will now be given to children during the holiday season.
Even while the locations were closed, the employees and customers or Massage Envy wanted to do their part to help the community. Hawkins shares exciting news of another initiative that she and the Massage Envy teams were able to start to help during trying times. “Our teams at Massage Envy [and] our members… raised over 1,200 massage services to give to our frontline nurses… equivalent to $140,000 in donations.” With her mother being a nurse, Hawkins understands the difficulties they face. “These [services] are going to a special group of people… Massage Envy partnered with the Philippine Nurses Association of Nevada, a 501C3 organization, to vet out gift cards to local frontline workers she says. With their help, these nurses, “get that much-needed relaxation and that power hour of their choice of massage or facial,” Hawkins explains.
Hawkins stresses the importance of maintaining a positive outlook in difficult times. She encourages everyone to, “Stay positive, stay healthy, and focus on the things that really matter, and that’s people.” Marissa Hawkins continues to follow her calling, “to promote health and wellness and to give back to the community.”
To learn more, visit Massage Envy LV youtube channel and @massagenvlv on IG.
