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Three seniors are celebrating the end of school by biking across America while raising money for orphans in Africa.
James Ellenberg, Eric Alvarez and Mike Kanvestel are gearing up for a 4,200-mile trip on their bikes, from Yorktown, Va., to northern California. The trip will raise money for Engage Africa, a missionary project to aid orphans in South Africa.
Abby Hunt of Springfield said she and her husband Jeff began Engage Africa this year. Hunt said the two are missionaries to South Africa and spent two years living there. They consider it their mission to help children who are considered "un-adoptable" because they are HIV positive or have full-blown AIDS, Hunt said.
Ellenberg, a senior from Springfield studying business management, said Alvarez was originally planning a cross-country bike trip by himself, but the more he talked about it, the more Ellenberg and Kanvestel became interested.
"It's definitely a thing that's going to be just kind of a transition point in our lives," Ellenberg said. "After college, before we start our jobs - there's really no other time when we're going to be able to take 10 weeks off."
Ellenberg said the trip would start July 10 and take eight to 10 weeks, with the cyclists riding about 80 to 100 miles per day. Alvarez said donations would be split in two, half going to Engage Africa and the rest helping to fund the trip.
Alvarez said he's not expecting the donations to cover the actual expenses of the trip and is anticipating most of the trip to be self-funded.
"We're assuming that even like half the money we raise is not going to be enough to fund the whole trip," Alvarez said.
Kanvestel, a John A. Logan Community College senior from Mt. Prospect studying construction management, said his brother did a similar trip four years ago, which inspired him to do the same.
"I just figure if I'm going to go home and work for a living I might as well do something cool before I start," Kanvestel said.
The three cyclists said they would pedal through Carbondale as part of their trip, riding down Illinois Route 13 in early August. Ellenberg said the brief stop in Carbondale would allow him to pack up his house and move before heading back on the road to California.
When the trip is finished, Alvarez said the group would probably stay in California for a few days before flying back to the "real world." Alvarez said he is looking forward to the trip being a life-changing experience.
"For the first time ever, we can do whatever we want," Alvarez said.
Madeleine Leroux can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 268 or mleroux@siu.edu.
