ABOVE: Goldfinch residents Janet Miller and Jan Nielsen are among the first to be in the new mobility bike, as they are joined by, from left: Valero Health Safety Environmental Manager Tanya Klunder, Quality Manager Jacque Nowicki, Office Coordinator Jaime Maday, Goldfinch Activity Manager Courtney Johnson, Sales and Marketing Manager Brody Bents, Valero Plant Manager Nicole Gries, Lead Production Specialist Mark Streit, Production Manager Will Cordle and SNR Supervisor Rusty McCormick.

FAIRMONT – Thanks to an $18,000 grant from Valero, Goldfinch Vista Prairie residents now have a new way to get around and explore.

Goldfinch Sales and Marketing Manager Brody Bents said it will be a nice opportunity for all their residents, especially those with limited mobility.

“We do have a path all the way around Goldfinch, which is actually a third of a mile,” he said. “The residents take advantage of that all the time walking, but it’s going to be nice to go for rides, especially memory care, and people that their mobility is more challenged. It’s going to enable them to get farther away from just the front of the building, or our courtyards, or our community spaces that we have outside of the building.”

In addition, Activity Manager Courtney Johnson said it will be a blast from the past for residents.

“One of the most prominent memories in every single person’s childhood is when they were riding a bike,” she said. “How’d you learn to ride a bike? When did you learn how to ride a bike? The fact that we’re bringing that memory back to our residents here is super special, too.”

The bike looks like any other except for the front, where it holds a basket that can carry at least two people.

“We’ll have one staff member powering it,” Bents said. “Then we can have up to two residents up front. There is a cover here that is retractable. On a super sunny day, we can have that up, or if it’s not super sunny or not as hot, we can definitely put that down, and everybody can get some sun.”

Valero Plant Manager Nicole Gries said this donation helped them hit an area locally they haven’t been able to support greatly.

“When we were approached by Goldfinch with this opportunity, our giving committee felt like this was a really good opportunity to support the aging population. And Martin County has a significant population, and this would be a great resource to get folks out in the community.”

With the bike now ready to go, Johnson said the implementation of the bike will be done in a few different ways, as multiple staff at Goldfinch are trained to use the bike for when the residents wish to take a ride.

“We’re probably going to put a few in the summer months, put it on our calendar, just going for bike rides,” she said. “We have multiple staff that are trained to ride the bike, and so just an impromptu, nice day, ride the bike around is totally okay with us too.”

On top of this, moving forward, Gries said Valero will be taking some opportunities to volunteer at Goldfinch as well.

“Our local volunteering is huge with Valero,” she said. “We’re always looking for opportunities, trying to engage more with Goldfinch and looking at ways our employees can come out here and support residents with various activities.”