THE HAND TO HEART PROJECT is a nonprofit program that provides free, in-home massage therapy and compassionate touch to people who are living with advanced cancer or who are dying of cancer. The service is provided by experienced massage therapists in nearly two dozen towns in and near the Upper Valley area of New Hampshire and Vermont.
 
Our clients include people who can comfortably get onto a massage table (we always have one with us), and others who aren’t mobile enough for that and receive the massage in a chair or bed. We have been with people who are going through difficult treatment and expecting or hoping to recover, and with people who were within a few hours of the end of life. Our clients are referred to us by many sources, including hospital staff, visiting nurse agencies, churches and members of the community who know of someone who might benefit from the service. If you would like to make a referral, click on the Contact Us button.
 
The Hand to Heart Project was founded in 2007 by massage therapist Steve Gordon of Cornish, N.H., with the help of several friends who believe that compassionate touch during extreme illness or when death is near is a wonderful gift to offer. Steve has been offering massage once a week to in-patients at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., for about 10 years. Briane Pinkson, one of the other massage therapists involved in the Project, has been doing in-patient massage there for more than 25 years.
 
In its first full year, the Project provided about 200 home visit massages. In Year Two, we increased that number by more than half. We hope to continue to grow in this, our third year. The project is funded entirely by grants, donations and other fund-raising efforts. If you would like to make a contribution to support our work, please click on the Contact Us button.