Touch of Relief, Inc. (TOR) was created in 2007 to give greater access to trauma populations that would immensely benefit from holistic health and wellness programs but have limited access.
After two and a half years of managing the community outreach programs for Potomac Massage Training Institute (PMTI) in Washington, D.C., Jaime Bernardo and Mary Contreras, also faculty members at the school, wanted to expand their services of providing holistic health care, wellness education, and training to under served groups, and coordinating disaster relief deployments.
Through this lens, they used a model program funded by the Balm Foundation to provide massage therapy to military families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to add additional sites around the country. Less than a year in operation, TOR received a grant from the Palmer Foundation to serve domestic violence survivors at shelters in D.C. They have established partnerships and developed grassroots, volunteer programs staffed by local, professional health care practitioners.
Currently, TOR is working with volunteer teams consisting of massage therapists and other holistic health care professionals in seven U.S. cities and two locations abroad. Mary has moved on to other pursuits while Jaime, along with the TOR Board of Directors and dedicated volunteers continue to oversee day-to-day operations.
About the Founder/Executive Director
Jaime Bernardo, LMT
Jaime came into the holistic healthcare field after eleven years in corporate management, marketing, and sales and twelve years of teaching and directing programs in youth leadership development. Jaime established a private practice after graduating from Potomac Massage Training Institute (PMTI) in 2000 and returned as a faculty member in 2002 where he continues to teach as a lead instructor. He also worked in the administrative staff of PMTI as the Alumni and Community Outreach Manager from 2003 to 2007. Jaime has been a faculty team leader and continues to teach Business Law & Regulations and serve as Graduate Intern Supervisor. He became active in sports massage and became a member of the National Capital Area Sports Massage Team in 2005. In 2006, Jaime was appointed the state coordinator of the Massage Emergency Response Team (MERT) for the American Massage Therapy Association Maryland Chapter. He also joined the Montgomery County Medical Reserve Corps as a volunteer Massage Therapist in 2006. In early 2007, he became the Maryland state coordinator for Emergency Response Massage International (ERMI), an independent national disaster relief organization. Jaime has led team deployments to the Gulf region for Katrina relief work and administered grants for PMTI to serve injured soldiers and their families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Jaime is a member of the American Massage Therapy Assocation. He received a BS in Business Management from the University of Maryland.