Recent Press Releases

INTERGRATIVE TOUCH FOR KIDS LAUNCHES A NEW HEALING RETREAT FOR KIDS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND THEIR FAMILIES
When: July 19-25th
Where: White Stallion Ranch in Marana, Arizona
Details:

Integrative Touch for Kids, a national non-profit organization, is launching a first ever healing retreat for kids with special needs and their families July 19th-25th, 2009 at the White Stallion Ranch in Marana, Arizona. White Stallion is generally closed in July but is opening its doors to accommodate this special event.

The first retreat will include care for six families who have children with special needs for a week-long experience that utilizes therapies such as massage, acupuncture, storytelling, laughter therapy, meditation, yoga, nutrition, equine therapy and the best that Western Medicine has to offer. Children with cancer, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism and other special needs will be included in this inaugural event. The program will help them to experience and learn new methods for coping with chronic and acute illness.

“This is a first of its kind healing opportunity for families who have children with special needs. We are exploring an innovative and comprehensive new model for healing the entire family—a model that has never previously been offered,” said Shay Beider, Founder and Executive Director of ITK. “The children and families’ excitement is incredible!”

The retreat is the first program in the long term development of a new healing center that will host children from around the country and the world for week-long healing retreats. Integrative Touch for Kids’ leadership in the field of pediatric integrative medicine is helping to change the way people think about health and healing for children.

“We are beginning an exciting process with children with special needs and their families to learn more about the nature of healing and what it means for them,” Shay Beider, Founder and Executive Director of Integrative Touch for Kids, said. “We will be exploring a variety of unique modalities in a combination that has never been tried before in an effort to further their healing.”

The emerging world of pediatric integrative medicine, which includes the best of Eastern and Western medicine, utilizes both convention and complementary approaches to healing the mind, body and spirit. Integrative Touch for Kids’ healing retreat program will serve as a model for the practice of this new form of medicine.

For media inquiries, please contact Morgan O’Crotty at (520)245-4737

What: INTEGRATIVE TOUCH FOR KIDS HOSTS BUTTERFLY RELEASE EVENT & BENEFIT FOR SICK KIDS AND THEIR FAMILIES
When: April 4th at 11:30am
Where: Tucson Country Club in Marana Tucson, AZ
Details: Tucson, ARIZ.-- Integrative Touch for Kids (ITK), a non-profit organization, is hosting a lunchtime benefit celebration for the pilot program of a healing retreat center for children with special needs and their families. Tickets are $45. The event will begin at 11:30am at the Tucson Country Club on Saturday, April 4th.

Integrative Touch for Kids’ purpose is to enhance well being, minimize suffering and facilitate healing for children with chronic, acute and life limiting illness. The healing retreat center will begin with a pilot program held at the historic and beautiful White Stallion Ranch in Marana from July 19th-25th. The first retreat will include care for six families who have children with special needs for a week-long experience that utilizes therapies such as massage, acupuncture, storytelling, laughter therapy, meditation, yoga, nutrition equine therapy and the best that Western Medicine has to offer.

“This is a first of its kind healing opportunity for families who have children with special needs. We are exploring an innovative and comprehensive new model for healing the entire family -a model that has never previously been tried,” said Shay Beider, Founder and Executive Director of ITK. "The children and families' excitement is palpable."

The MC for the event will be local news anchor Guy Atchley from ABC news. Guests who attend the luncheon will gain an understanding of the vision for the healing retreat center and learn about ways to become involved in the project. There will also be a raffle, live auction, live music and the release of butterflies!

To RSVP guests should call (520)_303-4992

For media inquiries, please contact Morgan O’Crotty at (520)245-4737.

What: Integrative Touch For Kids Hosts Community Information Sharing Event
When: February 11th at 5:30pm-7pm
Where: Embassy Suites Hotel (La Paloma Room), 3110 E. Skyline Drive Tucson, AZ
Details:

Tucson, ARIZ.-- Integrative Touch for Kids (ITK), a national non-profit organization, is hosting a Community Information Sharing Event at the Embassy Suites Hotel (La Paloma Room), 3110 E. Skyline Drive, on February 11th at 5:30pm-7pm. Admission is free. Attendees will gain an understanding of the vision for the healing retreat center, a center for children with special needs and their families, and learn about ways to become involved in the project.

“We are deeply committed to the center being an integral part of the community,” said Shay Beider, Founder and Executive Director of ITK. “For that to happen we need to reach out, form alliances and develop new relationships.”

The healing retreat center will begin with a pilot program in the summer of 2009 for seven families who have children with special needs. The center will host children from around the country and the world for week-long healing retreats that utilize therapies such as massage, acupuncture, storytelling, laughter therapy, meditation, yoga, nutrition and the best that Western Medicine has to offer.

“This event is an opportunity to begin a conversation with the community so they can join us in collectively engaging in the creative process of developing the center,” said Beider. “Our goal is to build momentum and support for the healing retreat center and to actively listen to what people within the community think so we can continue to grow.”

For media inquiries, please contact Morgan O’Crotty at (520)245-4737

What: Publicly announce the creation of a healing retreat center in Tucson for children with special needs and their family members
When: September 17, 2008
Where: Z Mansion, 288 N Church Ave, Tucson, AZ 85701
Details:

Tucson, ARIZ.-- Integrative Touch for Kids, a national non-profit organization, is hosting an event at the Z Mansion, 288 N Church Ave, Tucson, AZ 85701, on September 17th, to publicly announce the creation of a healing retreat center in Tucson for children with special needs and their family members.

The center will host children from around the country and the world for week-long healing retreats that utilize therapies such as massage, acupuncture, storytelling, laughter therapy, meditation, yoga, nutrition and the best that Western Medicine has to offer. Integrative Touch for Kids’ leadership in the field of pediatric integrative medicine is helping to change the way people think about health and healing for children.

“This center will be a wonderful resource for children with special needs and a significant addition to Tucson’s role as a center for Integrative Medicine,” said Sandy Newmark, MD, Director of the Center for Pediatric Integrative Medicine and a Medical Advisory Board Member for Integrative Touch for Kids. “I am very happy to be involved in the growth and development of this exciting project.”

The healing retreat center will begin with a pilot program in the summer of 2009 for eight families who have children with special needs. Children with a variety of different illnesses and conditions such as cancer, cerebral palsy, autism, sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, and brain and neurological disorders will participate. The program will help them to experience and learn new methods for coping with chronic and acute illness.

“To have the opportunity to explore the healing process with families and children with special needs, to learn from their experiences, and to share new therapies and insights is a journey that I am most excited to begin,” Shay Beider, Founder and Executive Director of Integrative Touch for Kids, said. “The emerging world of pediatric integrative medicine, which includes the best of Eastern and Western medicine, needs to have places that can serve as models for the practice of this new form of healing. By creating a retreat environment, we are able to immerse children and families in these new therapies in ways that have not previously been explored.”

For media inquiries, please contact Morgan O’Crotty at (520)245-4737

What: Benefit to debut a new film on pediatric integrative medicine
When: October 26, 2008
Where: Standard Club, 320 S Plymouth Court, Chicago, IL 60604
Details:

Integrative Touch for Kids, a national non-profit organization, is hosting a benefit for more than 200 guests at the historic Standard Club, 320 S Plymouth Court, Chicago, IL 60604, on October 26th, 2008. The benefit will serve as a special event to debut a new film on pediatric integrative medicine. Shay Beider, Executive Director of Integrative Touch for Kids, states that “the film is a look at the rapidly emerging world of pediatric integrative medicine, which includes the best of Eastern and Western medicine. We will be highlighting the role that Integrative Touch for Kids will be playing in bringing new programs and services to children with special needs and their families.” The short film features medical doctors from the Chicago area and parents and children speaking about the benefits of integrative medicine and how it helped them to cope with chronic and acute illnesses. “For many years, the focus of Western medicine has been primarily on the physical body, but we are now beginning to become more aware of the fact that healing occurs across multiple domains—physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual. To help people to heal fully and deeply, the practice of medicine needs to address each of these domains,” says Shay Beider.

Integrative Touch for Kids, founded in 2005, is a leader in the field of pediatric integrative medicine and is launching a first of its kind healing retreat center for children with special needs and their family members in Tucson, Arizona. Children will come from the Chicago area, around the country and the world to participate in week long healing retreats that utilize therapies such as massage, acupuncture, storytelling, laughter therapy, meditation, yoga, nutrition and the best that Western Medicine has to offer.

In Chicago, Integrative Touch for Kids has worked with Children’s Memorial Hospital to develop a gentle touch training program for nurses to use with hospitalized patients. David M. Steinhorn, MD, Medical Director of the Judith Nan Joy Integrative Medicine Initiative at Children’s Memorial Hospital says, “We are excited to be partnering with Integrative Touch for Kids whose leadership in the field of pediatric integrative medicine is helping to change the way we think about health and healing. Children and families are beginning to receive therapies that they may not otherwise have been able to access. I wholeheartedly believe that this approach will become the future standard of care and that one day all medical facilities will recognize integrative medicine as simply the best that western medicine has to offer.”

For media inquiries, please contact Jennifer Netzky at (773) 505-1840