Ciara on Staying Grounded With Russell Wilson: Charity Is ‘Something That's Really Important to the Both of Us'

Ciara (Getty Images)

Ciara burst onto the scene in 2004 with “Goodies” and, in the 11 years since, she’s released six albums, won a Grammy, become a mom, and emerged as one of the more charitable celebrities. A look at her Instagram feed would give you the impression that she’s almost always at a children’s hospital somewhere, often alongside her boyfriend, Russell Wilson.

This holiday season, she is teaming up with Unilever and Feeding America to provide meals for those less fortunate. The companies are providing several ways to help those in need and have, fittingly, chosen Ciara as their spokeswoman. She talked to Yahoo Celebrity about charity, success, and what keeps her grounded.

So you’re the face of this campaign, but the rest of us can help out as well, correct?
I’ve always loved kids and I’ve always had a very strong sense of care and concern for kids. The exciting thing about this is that it’s really easy and I’ll just give you a little background: Over the past five years [Unilever and Feeding America have] already provided 30 million meals and this year they’re going to provide 1 million, but the ultimate goal is, we want to rally up America to provide a million more meals. To be honest, I believe we can do more than that and it’s really simple. Anyone in the world can help make this happen by putting on your Twitter or your Instagram “#ShareAMeal” and a picture of an empty plate. You can also retweet Feeding America and it’s just that easy. It’s really, really amazing when you get to see how this works and you also get to understand the reality of what’s going on: one in every five children in America face the challenge of not being able to have a meal and so when you understand the reality of what that is, I just think, for me, being a mom, it really speaks to my heart so deeply. And so it’s exciting to know that it’s really this easy. It’s like, let’s give our social feeds, not talk just about fashion and all of those cool things, and our selfies, let’s do a #ShareAMeal moment.

Is that something that you think about, the disparity between your success and the less fortunate?
Oh my gosh, without a doubt. You know, I think the greatest thing is waking up doing what I love, but then when you see moments like this or you’re just driving your car and you see someone who’s homeless you go, “Wow.” It’s definitely a hard reality because a lot of times what happens, when I experience things, I always say, “Man i wish somebody could feel what I feel.” And everything’s not perfect, in life you’re always going to face challenges, but then it is a constant reminder: never take things for granted because you never know what tomorrow could bring. The greatest thing about what my job provides for me is, not only being able to entertain and live my dream and do exactly what I want to do, but being able to take this powerful platform to inspire and to influence billions of people. That’s my pay-off.

Ciara and Russell Wilson at Seattle Children’s Hospital (Instagram)

You and Russell Wilson do a lot of charity together, is that something that grounds you?
It’s something that’s really important to the both of us. Every time we go to the Seattle Children’s Hospital [Wilson is the quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks], it’s always a new experience because every child’s case is different and it definitely puts things into perspective because you think, “Wow, that could be me.” You have moments where you’re literally crying with the mom, like, “Oh my gosh this could be me.” I wouldn’t want to speak out of turn for Russ, but I know that every time you go, it makes you want to go and do more because there’s those cool moments where you see [that] you put a smile on that child’s face for that moment. You brought them a piece of joy, not only to the child, but their family, and that smile goes a long way, it’s very contagious. You walk out and you feel like now you’re doing something. To dance and sing, I know God has blessed me and I know I’m gifted. I’ve been blessed with a very unique talent, but then when you walk away from moments like that… that’s everything, that tops it off, that makes it all make sense.

You released two albums [2013’s Ciara and 2015’s Jackie] in a pretty short span there, are you working on new music now?
My brain is always working, I’m always inspired. It could be the simplest thing that I see, I could be walking on the street and I see something really cool happen and I get inspired. So my brain never stops working on the creative side of it all, but I’m just going one day at a time. The fan love and the reception to Jackie has been really cool and it’s an album that I’m super proud of. I poured my heart and soul into it and it marks a very special time in my life, you know, being a new mom. The title Jackie, that’s my mom’s name; it just really marks this really cool moment in my life. … It’s been a fun roller coaster ride thus far and the ride is flowing.