Sylvia Tisdale isn’t letting her age stop her from reaching new heights. The 70-year-old has been training for two hours a day to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness of food insecurity.
Tisdale is a lead pastor at Epps Christian Center in Pensacola, Florida, and CEO of Ecomfort, Inc. In an interview with Good Morning America, Tisdale shared that the idea of climbing the world’s second tallest mountain came after a phone call from her daughter.
Her daughter planned to climb the mountain and decided to give her mother a call to see if she’d want to join. Tisdale immediately said yes.
“When I said yes, it ignited something in me, ignited my passion that there was something more that I could do, especially as I began to exercise and got my mind renewed,” she told GMA.
Since the pandemic, the need for food has increased. Tisdale’s Ecomfort group is currently providing 60,000 pounds of food each month, serving roughly 7,000 people. Once Planet Fitness heard about Tisdale and her story, they surprised her with a $20,000 check to go towards her fundraising goals.
With Kilimanjaro in sight, Tisdale chants her mantra, repeating “Kilimanjaro” as she trains at Planet Fitness.
Around 30,000 people climb Mount Kilimanjaro every year. In preparation for the 19,000-foot climb, Tisdale started training five months ago.She’s currently training for two hours every day.
“I just really feel good, my body feels good, my mind feels good. I feel good about the accomplishment,” said Tisdale.
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