Before March 2, 2007, Allen Slabaugh was admittedly focused on baseball. But like others on the Bluffton team bus that crashed that morning in Atlanta, killing seven-including five of his teammates-he was changed by the experience.
"The accident redirected me a lot," says Slabaugh, 24, who calls it "a miracle" that he escaped with only cuts on his back and a few stitches on one knee. No longer feeling invincible, he realized "I was blessed to be able to play baseball, and for each day on Earth I'm given," he explains.
The Dalton, Ohio, native gained a desire to serve others, but two years later, after earning degrees in business administration and sport management and completing two internships with minor league baseball teams, he didn't feel he would be doing that on the business side of baseball. So he applied to work with Habitat for Humanity through Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS), which he had heard about at Bluffton.
Last summer, during his year with Habitat, Slabaugh participated in the "Bicycle Adventure" sponsored by the Fuller Center for Housing, also a nonprofit agency based, like Habitat, in Americus, Ga. He rode roughly 600 miles of the total trip, from Andersonville, Ga., to New Orleans, where he helped build a house.
While with Habitat, he also got to know Bicycle Adventure founder Ryan Iafigliola, who asked Slabaugh if he would be interested in leading the trip this year. Seeing it as where God was leading him, with the opportunity to combine service with his athletic ability and love of the outdoors, Slabaugh said yes. That's why he decided to stay in MVS for another year, beginning last September, and work with the Fuller Center.
He plans to pedal the entire 3,570-mile route of the Bicycle Adventure, beginning Sunday (June 12) in Seattle and ending Aug. 13 in Washington, D.C. Riders will average six to seven hours and 75 miles on their bikes daily, raising money for the six-year-old Fuller Center and awareness of the low-income housing issue in general. They will also help with seven house projects along the way, culminating with one for a paralyzed veteran in northern Virginia.
"Being able to provide someone with a good home can change their life," says Slabaugh. "That's something I have a strong passion for."
"I want to do something that can change lives and help people," he adds. "It's just a way for me to give back. I've been blessed."
