Saphire’s Courage tour includes a stop at the Goodridge School
Wed, 09/06/2017 - 9:38am
admin
By:
Kari Sundberg, Eagle Editor
Saphire’s Courage is a campaign that began 5 years ago after Saphire Brown experienced bullying from her peers, and the mental health challenges that accompanied. Being very open about her past experiences during her teenage years, and telling the story of this challenging time in her life, including suicidal ideation, Saphire promotes hope and shares coping skills that were effective for her as she encourages others to seek help for whatever they are dealing with.
Saphire’s Courage will soon go on tour in Northern Minnesota and work its way down to the Minneapolis area and up towards the Grand Forks, ND, area. The tour will kick off on October 3rd at Franklin Middle School in Thief River Falls, and makes a stop at the Goodridge School on October 11th at 9:30am.
Saphire has shared her story at many area schools, churches, and other venues, and has presented for mental health conferences as a keynote speaker. She is also a Nashville recording artist who has opened for legends Amy Grant, Michael W Smith and Mark Schultz. Already reaching thousands of kids, Saphire will hit the road in a few weeks to connect and interact with even more students while using music to deliver her message. The mission of Saphire’s Courage is to educate, inspire, and advocate for anti-bullying, suicide awareness, and mental health.
Two years ago, Saphire moved to Nashville to pursue her music career. During her time there, she says she learned so much about writing, and the ins and outs of the music industry. She and her fiancé, Blake, performed at some amazing events while there, including the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, but felt a strong pull to come back to Minnesota to tour. She says, “While there, we met fabulous people who changed our lives, were welcomed into a church that gave us so much to be thankful for, and got to live and breathe the feeling of Nashville. Although it was so much fun, I discovered that my purpose was not only just for Nashville, but for anywhere and everywhere God leads me. After lots of praying of where He wanted us to go next, we felt a strong pull to come back to MN.” She adds, “We don’t know what state we’ll be going to next, but Nashville and Minnesota are always home to both of us.”
Saphire graduated from Northome, MN, while her fiancé, Blake, graduated from Thief River Falls. Saphire’s mom, Stacy (Englund) Brown, grew up in Grygla. Her grandparents are Melvin and Polly Englund, so she visits this area occasionally and as time allows.
As far as short term goals, Saphire wants to continue spreading her story and music in Minnesota and reaching as many people as she can. Looking down the road, she hopes to share her story with all 50 states and also doing some out of country events. “To me, I have already made it. I get to share my story with hundreds of people every year and I get to watch as people pull out of their darkness and find the courage to be who they are. To me that is making it. That’s been my purpose all along. And if that’s all I do for the rest of my life, it’s completely and totally worth it,” Saphire concluded.
Along with Saphire’s Courage tour, she will be singing at the Suicide Prevention Run/Walk/Skate in Bemidji on September 9th, and also has an upcoming concert scheduled at Pioneer Village in Thief River Falls from 7-9pm on September 15th. All proceeds go to fund the village. Tickets are being sold at Hugo’s, Border State Bank and the Ralph Engelstad Arena in TRF.
To book Saphire’s Courage or Saphire Brown, please contact Saphire’s booking manager at 218-360-0279 or via email at saphirebrownofficial@gmail.com. You can also follow Saphire on Facebook @saphirebrownofficial. Her Courage EP is available on iTunes and her Fearless music video is on Vevo.com and YouTube.