Q&A: Rimassa 'steps up' for cause

In honor of United Cerebral Palsy's STEPtember contest, Milena Rimassa, marketing communications manager at Convaid, has committed to walking 10,000 steps a day to raise $2,500 for those living with disabilities. To encourage participation, Convaid is also offering its dealers who participate in the challenge a chance to win $1,000 in product credit. Rimassa spoke to HME News about why step contests are so popular and how companies can benefit from them.

HME News: Fundraising can be a challenge. What makes STEPtember different?

Milena Rimassa: They have a very organic appeal. When you see someone else doing it, it's like, “I can do that too.” And so people just get on the bandwagon. It's an inspirational thing to do, but you're actually doing something to feel good. You're rock climbing or rollerblading or hiking or whatever it is that makes you happy, and it's for a great cause. It's win, win.

HME: What's the participation been like from Convaid and R82 dealers?

Rimassa: As it stands we have 22 sales regions and at least 18 are participating. We're giving the dealer teams $1,000 in product credit for the dealer that walks the most steps and the dealer that raises the most money, which is why we're getting such good participation. In today's economy, a $1,000 product credit is nothing to sneeze at.

HME: What are the benefits company-wise?

Rimassa: It gets everyone on the same page for at least 30 days and it builds a lot of camaraderie. It's good for dealer morale and it's good for integration. We're on two coasts now. Before we were just Convaid, but now we're a bigger family—we have our brothers and sisters on the East Coast in the R82 building and now we're all working together. This is our first big, fun, nonprofit initiative we're working on and it's cool to see people come together for that.