black girls breathing™

black girls breathing™ creates space for Black womxn to manage their mental health via meditational breathwork.  As seen in VOGUE, Marie Claire, NYLON MAG, GOOP, MINDBODYGREEN, Well + Good, PopSugarFitness, Chalkboard Mag.

CAMPAIGN UPDATE: we surpassed our original $50k goal -- THANK YOU! The impact of our work being free and low-cost in our community during these past 5 months has demonstrated the difference we can make in Black womxn's lives and mental health. 2021 Update: We've met our 2020 fundraising goal and announced in May 2021, our pledged to impact 1 Million Black women and girls by 2025. You can support our mission here.

Since incorporating sliding-scale and free slots to our work, we discovered the following insights after collecting data from our participants (~130 respondents):

• even with health insurance, Black women’s options to accessible mental health care are limited. 90% of our participants* currently have health insurance. however less than 28% have regular access to free or reduced mental health services outside of black girls breathing. a gap we can and must fill.

•  86%  of our participants indicated that the black girls breathing sliding-scale virtual breathwork sessions have helped them manage their mental health and establish a sense of community during the pandemic (a time where feelings of isolation and grief has increased).

CHRONIC STRESS IS KILLING BLACK WOMEN.

Black women suffer from physical and mental ailments linked back to chronic stress more than any other group: heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, ovarian, cervical and breast-cancer related fatalities, anxiety, depression, and reproductive system challenges. Breathwork is an active meditation used to help reframe the body’s response to trauma and triggers — and reduce chronic stress, anxiety, and depression.

Our community consists of Black women ages 18 to over 65. black girls breathing™ is the only organization introducing breathwork — a popular meditative healing technique in LA and NYC — to Black women specifically and with an emphasis on making our work accessible to our community.

OUR PIVOT & CROWDFUNDING MISSION

In May due to COVID19, we introduced a sliding-scale virtual breathwork circle series occurring twice per month. Participants were able to join from $0-$25.

However, due to the mental and emotional stress the Black community is currently experiencing, we want to be able to provide 100+ Black womxn per session the access to join our virtual breathwork circles for free for 1 year. Though recent donations from non-Black allies have covered 150+ slots for Black womxn in June, the work does not end in a month.

We want for those who need wellbeing support to have the continuous access and opportunity to do so; while still being able to operate and support the Black contractors and creatives we pay.

ABOUT OUR FOUNDER

Jasmine Marie is a breathworker and mindfulness practitioner. She's shared her work at organizations such as Harvard Business School, Columbia University, Cornell University, UCLA, NYU Stern amongst others. She has a past life in brand marketing (global haircare at Unilever), is the former founder of two creative consultancies and an alum of NYU Stern.

How will we spend this $50,000?

$25,000 will help cover our operational budget for 1 year and replace the income expected from paid participants in order to support several hundred no-cost participants per virtual breathwork session. We pay the Black people who work for us...that's the way it should be.

$10,000 will support our marketing budget. Currently, we increase brand awareness and engagement by running monthly Facebook and Instagram ads.

$15,000 will support our next tour. With Covid-19 wiping out our primary source of income to sustain our practice, we plan to recommence our in-person sessions in 2021. Our focus is on cities where Black women reside and live, not just popular wellness hot spots. In 2019, our 6-city tour, which sold out in every city, brought breathwork to 300+ Black women in Houston, Dallas, DC, NYC, LA, and Atlanta.

THANK YOU

We appreciate your allyship and support as we do the work! Thank you for your contribution!