PENNEY FARMS, Fla. (NewsNation) — A group of Florida retirees are volunteering their time to give the gift of mobility to the world.
At Penney Retirement Community, volunteers spend hours a day cutting, sanding and building three-wheeled hand-powered carts known as personal energy transportation carts. So far, the volunteers have built 13,000 carts. The mobility carts have been delivered to 106 countries.
PETs were first produced in Missouri by Larry Hills, but when Hills moved to Florida in 2001, he started working on carts in Clay County.
Sid Rooy, 95, has been a volunteer since the beginning. He says the support the three-wheeled vehicles give others is priceless.
“Now they can support themselves. They can start their own business, they can get married, they can have children, and they can support their families. It just gives a new lease on life,” he said on “Morning in America.”
He adds, “We come to retirement, but we don’t retire, we really just keep working. And I think the more we invest ourselves in the work that produces these and gives other people an opportunity for life, the stronger we feel, and more encouraged we are.”
“I never dreamt that I would live to 95. But every day is a gift the good Lord gives us and we use it invest it, and have a great time doing it,” Rooy said.
It costs roughly $350 for materials to build each PET cart and the organization is a nonprofit run by volunteers. To donate to the cause, click here.