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About the Foundation

Our MOtivation – Why we decided
to create the Moriah Wilson Foundation

Moriah was in the process of moving back to Vermont when she was taken from us. In the two and half years spent training, racing, and working in California, she had achieved her dream of becoming a professional athlete. She believed returning to her roots was a way to keep moving forward with meaning. The significant power of community had become clear to her, and she envisioned using her platform as a cyclist to give back to the community that shaped her. In her journal, she wrote that her mission was “to inspire to ride bikes and be active, whatever that may look like”. We want to do what Moriah didn’t have the chance to do. What she had said about cycling, we now say about sustaining her legacy and impact in our community:
“We can’t not do this.”

– The Wilson Family

“For the first time in a while, I feel like I’m truly seeing all the possibilities of what my life could look like. So what do I want it to look like? What do I value? What do I stand for? What gets me out of bed in the morning? What sort of mark do I want to leave on this world?”

– moriah wilson, December 23, 2021

Community Matters

In a post-covid world, the value of community has become clear. Moriah shared her feelings about this in conversations shortly before she died. She underlined a number of sections from the book she was re-reading, The Second Mountain – The Quest For a Moral Life by David Brooks. Moriah’s awareness of the need for stronger communities is shown by her underlining:

In a culture of “I’m Free to Be Myself,” individuals are lonely and loosely attached. Community is attenuated, connections are dissolved, and loneliness spreads. This situation makes it difficult to be good – to fulfill the deep human desires for love and connection. It’s hard on people of all ages, but it’s especially hard on young adults.

Moriah saw relationships as a driver of change; interdependence as a salve in a culture of hyperindividualism. We hope to help strengthen our communities as she had hoped to do.