GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Jake Slaughter isn’t just an All-American center for the Florida Gators football team, he’s making an All-American impact off the field as well. Slaughter was honored this weekend by Alachua Habitat for Humanity as their “Very Important Builder” (VIB).
“We actually pulled all the numbers and he has been the player who has spent the most time on our builds. He is out there. He is working hard for whatever task he’s doing whether it’s laying sod, painting whether it’s the middle of the summer and it’s 100° or it’s the middle of the winter and it’s 25 °, Jake is out there with a smile on his face engaging with our homeowners working so closely with our site supervisors and wanting to learn,” Executive Director of Alachua Habitat for Humanity Stevie Doyle told Florida Victorious.
“We absolutely love having him. We’ve seen it with consistency with him. He’s always there. He’s always sporting a smile. Every habitat staff member that I meet talks about their interactions with him on our build sites our homeowners think he just hung the moon when he’s out there with them and we’ve seen an impact from him and his consistency for sure.”
Founded in 1986, Alachua Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization with a 501(c)3 designation. They are the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. While they work in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity International, Alachua Habitat for Humanity is an independent organization led by a local board of directors to coordinate all aspects of our work, including fundraising and program oversight.
In the past year, Slaughter has worked on 17 builds for Alachua Habitat for Humanity and spent more than 30 hours working on homes. As part of his work with Florida Victorious, Slaughter has enjoyed being able to give back to the community through our charity partners. The relationship with Florida Victorious has also helped drive awareness to and has benefitted Alachua Habitat for Humanity directly.
“Our partnership with Florida Victorious has been huge, and I think it has increased our reach in the community,” Mrs. Doyle said. “All eyes are on our football team the majority of the year so when they are doing things that are making an impact like building on our home sites, it helps us promote the social media. We see those engagement numbers significantly higher than a traditional post of a traditional volunteer working on our sites. The increase in social media and then of course partnering with our Hall of Framers event. It would not be possible without them coming to the event and caring about hearing about our homeowners. It’s been huge for us.”
