August 23, 2023
Now in Our Inventory–an Unprecedented Device Donation
“We are a small start-up based in Vancouver and are presently trying to launch our products in Canada,” Vijay Atawane wrote REquipment Program Director Dan Perkins. “I believe donating our first batch of cushions is a good way to start our business. It will earn us blessings of 551 recipients and also some good karma.”
This is how it began — the addition of an unprecedented 551 brand-new specialized seat cushions to the REquipment inventory.
As most of our readers know, we don’t ordinarily have this volume of any one kind of device, never mind this volume of brand-new equipment. But Vijay Atawane’s donation was a way to turn inventory in a storage unit in Waltham into “blessings of 551 recipients” in Massachusetts. And we couldn’t be happier to assist.
Vijay explained that he had searched Massachusetts nonprofit organizations that might benefit, and only REquipment could answer the call. Not every program has the vans, storage, and ability to move 551 seat cushions or a system to distribute them free to anyone in the state who needs one.
We do.
REquipment has been reassigning donated durable medical equipment since 2014. We became a statewide reuse program in 2017. Our program has distributed more than 10,000 devices to date.
We can handle 551 more.
Last week, Program Director Dan Perkins, REquipment’s driver Al Rich, and technicians Bill Fredette and Brian Benoit met Vijay Atawane, CEO of ARISTA Seating Solutions, at the storage facility. Together, they loaded 85 cartons — a total of 1930 lbs. worth of seat cushions — into a truck for storage with REquipment. Needless to say, it took most of the morning.
Afterward, Vijay took everyone to lunch — more good karma for Arista Seating and another blessing for REquipment!
About the donation:
Vijay Atawane designed his cushions to solve a problem experienced by many: painful pressure on the coccyx while seated. Arista’s cushions suspend the tailbone above the seat, improve posture, and improve cushion longevity by using two layers of specialized foam. Read about the unique dual-layer dual-density construction of ARISTA’s sandwich seat cushions.
Two styles of ARISTA’s specialized cushions are now available free in our inventory:
(Please note: the heart-shaped wedge cushion is not suitable for wheelchair use.)
Thank you, Vijay Atawane, for your generosity and for your needed invention. Thanks to you, hundreds of Massachusetts residents will benefit. Seating solutions such as these can reduce pain and even injury. They make it possible for people to spend more time upright doing what they love or need to do. We look forward to your start-up’s success sustained by the good karma of this very generous gift. Learn more about these cushion styles at ARISTA Seating Solutions.
Interested in a heart-shaped or butterfly-shaped seat cushion? Visit dmereuse.org.
