Divine Wellness in Winter Garden Needs a New Home A.S.A.P — Help Them Get There!

My name is Maureen (Mo) Jacobson I've known Michele for 16 years — 14 as a customer, and for the last 2 as a Massage Therapist working alongside her at Divine Wellness Shop & Spa in Winter Garden. I'm writing this because the woman who built this place would never write it herself.

Michele is the kind of person who gives everything she has to everyone around her and keeps nothing for herself. I've watched her do it every single day.

As a massage therapist, I've worked in a lot of places. Spas, clinics, wellness centers. I can tell you that what Michele built at Divine Wellness is different. It's not just a shop. It's not just a spa.

It's a place where people walk in carrying something heavy and walk out a little lighter. I see it happen from my treatment room every day. Someone comes in stressed, hurting, overwhelmed — and between the gemstones, the energy of the space, the conversation with Michele, and the services we provide in the spa, they leave a better version of themselves. That matters.

Michele created that. Not with a big budget or powerful contacts. With her hands, her heart, and her refusal to ever let someone walk out of that shop without feeling cared for.

Some of the most powerful things I've witnessed in this shop aren't sales — they're conversations. A customer comes in dealing with a health issue, looking for supplements, scared and overwhelmed. Michele sits with them. She talks through different options. She gently talks about lifestyle changes they might want to think about. And more than anything, she gives them something no supplement can — belief in themselves that they can heal. I've seen those conversations change people. Their outlook. Their hope.

I've seen her spend over an hour with customers who had no intention of buying anything, simply because they needed someone to talk to. Not once. Many times. That's not a business strategy. That's who she is.

I've known Michele for 16 years. I walked into her shop as a customer and never left. That should tell you everything you need to know about the kind of space she creates and the kind of person she is. When I had the chance to work alongside her, I took it — because I knew this was a place where I could do my best work as a therapist. She doesn't treat me like an employee. She treats me like family. She cares about the experience her clients have from the moment they walk in to the moment they leave. That's rare.

Recently, she got news that our landlord is forcing us out. We have until the end of March to leave the space Michele built from nothing.

I have to be honest — in 16 years of knowing Michele, I have never seen her like that. She was devastated. The shop she built, the community she nurtured, the space she poured herself into — and she's being told to pack it up in such a short period of time. It broke my heart to see her that way.

But the very next day — she was moving forward. Already looking at new spaces. Already making plans. Already figuring out how to turn this into a new beginning instead of an ending. That's who she is. She doesn't stay down. She finds a way.

But finding a way costs money. Moving a business like this — all the inventory, the gemstones, the massage equipment, setting up a whole new space from bare walls — is expensive. The new space she's looking to secure needs flooring, soundproofing, lighting, plumbing, and signage before we can even open the doors. And every day we're closed during the transition is a day we're not serving our community or earning the income we need to keep going.

I'm not just asking you to help save a business. I'm asking you to help save a place that heals people.

Michele would never ask for this. In 16 years I've never once seen her ask for anything for herself. She's always the one giving. So I'm asking on her behalf — as someone who sees what she does when no one's watching, and who knows how much this community would lose if Divine Wellness didn't come back.

If you've ever walked into Divine Wellness and felt something shift — a little more peace, a little more hope, a little less weight on your shoulders — that's Michele. If she ever sat with you when you were scared about your health and made you believe you could heal — that's Michele. If a gemstone she picked out for you is sitting on your nightstand right now — that's Michele. That's what she builds. Help her build it again.

This isn't the end of Divine Wellness. Michele won't let it be. Help us make the next chapter even better.

Donate if you can. Share this if you can't. Either one means the world to us.

With gratitude, Mo, Massage Therapist, Divine Wellness Shop & Spa

WHAT THE FUNDS WILL COVER:

We're being completely transparent about how your support will be used. Everything raised goes directly toward Divine Wellness's future — whatever form that takes.

Right now we're actively working to secure a new physical location. If that comes together, funds will go toward:

Securing the new space — first month's rent, security deposit, and lease costs.