Abilene Christian University Fraternity Organizes Bike Ride to Pepperdine to Raise Money for Students Impacted by LA Fires

On Friday, March 7, 2025, 11 members of the Gamma Sigma Phi fraternity at Abilene Christian University (ACU) in Abilene, Texas, embarked on a 1,405-mile bicycle ride from ACU to Pepperdine’s Malibu campus. The project, Bike to Pepperdine, which kicked off during ACU’s spring break, was developed in an effort to raise money for the Pepperdine Strong Fund that provided immediate and continued support for Pepperdine students, faculty, and staff facing financial burdens, travel interruptions, and other urgent needs caused by the fires that devastated Los Angeles in January 2025. The team reached Pepperdine on Wednesday, March 12. 

“The Pepperdine student body is humbled and honored to be recipients of the dedication, hard work, and generosity of the 11 students from Abilene Christian University,” says Myers Mentzer, president of the Pepperdine Student Government Association (SGA). “What a blessing it is to see the community coming together to support one another, not just as peer institutions, but as brothers and sisters in Christ, especially during times such as these.”

The SGA, with support from Alumni Relations and the Hub for Spiritual Life, hosted a welcome ceremony on Wednesday, March 12, at 6 PM, to greet the bikers with an In-N-Out Burger truck as they reached the finish line of their journey to Pepperdine. Waves Church provided dessert for the event.

The origins of the charity bike ride started at ACU in the early 2000s, when the fraternity pedaled their way from their school in Abilene to Pepperdine, raising $5,000 for Habitat for Humanity. The tradition continued in 2006 with a ride supporting the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation. As the event made its return in 2025, the organizers sought guidance from one of the original founders of the ride who helped the team gather valuable logistics from past events and offered insights and lessons learned from previous rides. The team has been training since December 2024, using indoor bikes at ACU’s recreation center and conducting test rides to prepare for the terrain.

While the fraternity planned to raise $10,000 through the fundraising initiative, they increased their number to $68,000 with an ambitious goal of exceeding it. Half of the money they raise will be directed to the Pepperdine Strong Fund. The bicycle ride will also benefit Greater Than Three, a local Abilene nonprofit that offers hope and independence to individuals who have experienced traumatic mobility injuries.