Irving Oil Refinery Donates Bicycles to African Healthcare Workers through Kona Bicycle Company Program
SAINT JOHN– The Saint John Refinery made a special international donation this week with the delivery of 26 new Kona bicycles to the facility.
For the past 15 years, refinery employees have used bicycles to get around the 780-acre facility during the spring, summer and fall months. When new bicycles were required, refinery safety and purchasing representatives looked at a durable Kona brand bicycle, called the ‘AfricaBike’ which is also the brand of bike used in the international donation program called Kona BikeTown Africa.
For every ‘AfricaBike’ purchased through Kona, another is donated to aid home health care workers in the delivery of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to HIV/AIDS patients in Botswana, Namibia and Senegal. The 26-bicycle donation is part of 1,000 total ‘AfricaBikes’ being donated this year by Kona.
“The bicycles continue to be a popular choice for our refinery workers to get around in the warmer months,” said Robert Perreault, a Process Safety Investigator at the refinery. “The bikes provide a great combination of environmental and health benefits, so the interest was there to expand our fleet. The Kona bikes’ durability suit the terrain in and around the refinery units, and with the BikeTown Africa donations going hand-in-hand with the purchase, it was a win-win situation. We’re very proud to support the BikeTown program and know the difference it’s making in Africa.”
”Kona’s matching program really opens up an opportunity for local companies like Irving Oil to contribute to health care issues facing sub-Sahara Africa. Having the bicycles at our store here in Saint John for assembly has created a lot of interest and exposure for the Kona Program,” said Adam Pitre, co-owner of Bike Works on Union Street.
For more information on the Kona BikeTown Africa program, visit www.konabiketown.com.
Media Contact:
Lesley MacLeod
Irving Oil
202-3924
| 
