Nashville singer, songwriter, and influencer, Jasmine Murray has been sharing her fashion and makeup tips since her 2014 Miss Mississippi year. Jasmine grew up in Mississippi but moved to Nashville 7 years ago to start a music career in Christian contemporary music. Her first single, Fearless, is what inspired Jasmine when she designed the band. She’s an advocate for mental health, and her honesty about her own struggles with anxiety and depression is both inspiring and comforting.
I wrote Fearless because of my own struggles with anxiety. Its been such a long journey for me, learning about anxiety and depression, learning how to understand it and overcome it. After my own experience, I wanted to become more of an advocate for mental health and help others feel less alone.
We are excited to join Jasmine on this important mission!
The Band
The band is a statement piece, bold and a little edgy. That’s Jasmine’s vibe. Lined with soft black leather, the band features arrow patterned gold leather making it a black and gold dream, as black and gold are Jasmine’s favorite colors.
The look of the band goes hand in hand with Jasmine’s song Fearless and the arrows signify being propelled forward in faith, not fear.
Sometimes it feels like you are pulling back a bow and arrow and you don’t know if you’re going to make it. Then when it is set into action, you just go, you soar and you fly high and you don’t pay attention to all of the noise. Don’t let the other things get you off course, keep your eye on the prize. That’s a good way of looking at life and especially when you’re dealing with anxiety because it can feel like constant noise, thoughts, confusion, and uncertainty in your head and it can really hinder you in going forward, it can make you want to feel stuck and not even move.
I hope people wear this band and feel powerful like they can take on the world and truly feel bold and fearless.
The Cause
Proceed’s from Jasmine’s band will benefit The Loveland Foundation, an organization that provides mental health resources to women and girls of color. The foundation enables them to access the help they need regardless of socioeconomic status.
The charity that I chose, the Loveland Foundation, is so amazing because they help women be able to afford therapy and start that healing process if they are struggling with any type of mental illness. I think that is so important because not everyone has that ability, not everyone has the resources to seek help or maybe they don’t know where to start.
Jasmine wanted to focus on mental health because it’s something she has personally experienced. Her struggle with anxiety inspired her to become an advocate for mental health. She is committed to helping other women of color get the help that she was fortunate enough to have. The Loveland Foundation’s mission is especially focused on helping black women and girls get the mental health care and guidance they need, no matter what their current situation is.
Being a woman of color I understand the struggle of feeling like sometimes you have to be strong all the time and if you do ask for help you are looked at as weak and that’s just not true. For some reason, there is this narrative that if you ask for help then something is wrong with you and you can’t do it yourself. But you are not meant to do life by yourself, you don’t have to be strong all the time. Nobody is strong all the time, we are all people, we are all living and learning how this works so I love that this organization focuses on that and gives these young women and girls an opportunity to start that healing process no matter what their financial situation is.
Mental Health awareness has grown in recent years but past stigma can make it intimidating to ask for help. Jasmine experienced that first hand and is passionate about changing that.
Sometimes what’s best for you is not what’s best for the next person but I think you have to go on a journey to find what works for you. Going and talking to someone for the first time can be extremely scary. With the Loveland Foundation, you can go to their website and sign up and automatically have an amazing foundation of people who are ready to help you figure out how to support yourself.
The Loveland Foundation is changing lives for the better, making it easier for women to start the journey of overcoming their emotional struggles. There is hope on the other side and there are people who want to help. That’s why Spark*l and Jasmine decided to band together to support The Loveland Foundation.
What does Fearless mean to you?
To me, fearless is a state of constantly being intentional about your emotions. Waking up every day and choosing not to walk in fear but to walk in faith. To walk in boldness and confidence and not let emotions overtake you. That is how I take back my control.
When Jasmine was touring the country singing her song Fearless, she performed in many community centers and churches and she noticed a common thread; people felt alone.
“You are not alone, you are not the only one going through this, and you don’t have to walk through this alone.”
We know that going through emotional difficulties can feel very lonely, and it can be difficult to recognize when it is time to seek help or how to start that process. The Loveland Foundation focuses on helping women with just that.
You feel like you are the only one going through this. That’s what I felt. I felt like I couldn’t tell anyone because they would think that something was wrong with me. But this is something that a lot of people deal with. You are not alone, you have people that want to help you. By reaching out for help you are taking back your power and owning it and saying ‘no I’m not going to be afraid’.
How did you get started in the industry?
I competed in Miss America and was miss Mississippi in 2014. So that’s where it all began but then I just kept going with it and then started honing in on it in the last 4 years or so. I’ve had the opportunity to partner with really amazing brands that I already love. Music is still a huge part of me but right now I’m really doing more influencing and modeling. That’s a large part of my life now so I feel like I do a little bit of everything.
I’ve been working with Spark*l for a few years now. It is such an incredible business that allows women like me to do what we do. Spark*l lifts us up and give us the opportunity to have a voice. I’m flattered and honored and so incredibly grateful to be a part of Band Together.
We are so excited to have joined Jasmine in supporting The Loveland Foundation and to welcome her to the Spark*l Squad! To learn more about The Loveland Foundation or to seek help for yourself visit https://thelovelandfoundation.org/
