CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Whether she’s walking through the community or in the classroom, middle school teacher and foster mom, Alicia Moss loves helping children.
What You Need To Know
After her life turned upside down, Alicia Moss decided to take on Mount Kilimanjaro
The hike is expected to take Moss eight days
She hopes to raise $100,000 for a new nonprofit she is starting
“When I'm talking to my students, we're trying to problem solve and they're in class and they're, you know, running up against things. I'm like, what is working? What is working,” Moss said. “And let's take that and let's celebrate that.”
It's a lesson Moss had to use after her marriage of 28 years ended right before the pandemic.
“What, what am I going to do? Am I going to be sorry for myself?” Moss said. “Or am I going to go ahead and try to live my best life?”
She almost hit rock bottom along the way.
“Almost lost my house,” Moss said. “Like, it was bad. It was bad.”
But instead of focusing on the negatives, she used time during the pandemic to get outside, clear her head, and dream of a new plan for her life.
“I had my moment. I cried and I, you know, it was, it was hard,” Moss said. “It was very difficult. But at the end of the day, I picked my behind up and I said, 'we've got to, we've got to create a life that we love.'”
Not only did she set a new goal for herself, but she envisioned a new direction for her life.
“I was just like, I’m going to climb Kilimanjaro. I’m going to climb it,” Moss said.
She also decided to create a nonprofit to bring a tiny home community to the Charlotte area, for women and children.
“All it takes in this society. You're not, everybody's living paycheck to paycheck,” Moss said. “It only takes one thing to throw everything else off.”
With a new focus and with every step taken, she hopes her determination will help inspire her students to never give up.
“Whatever situation they may come from, hard family trials that they can, they can overcome,” Moss said.
She hopes her students reach a new peak of success.
Through her hike, Moss is trying to raise $100,000 to begin plans for the tiny home community.
You can find more about her journey on her Facebook group page, the Body Confidence Movement.