Mo’MAGIC | Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good

Ways to Give and Feel Good

In this holiday season, consider giving back to the community! Scientists have found that it’s good for you to do an act of kindness for someone else. Research has discovered that our brains release neurotransmitters that make us feel good when we do good. In this week’s blog, we surveyed our Engage San Francisco community…

Depicting What Justice Looks Like

This week’s blog post is another report updating the evolution of the mural, Reimagining a Just World — that is being created in our Center’s lobby in a collaboration between the Center and arts organization, Precita Eyes Muralists. Keep reading to learn more about the significance behind each section of the design, imagined by the…

Supporting Year-Round Literacy

Throughout this month, we have highlighted our summer learning partnerships in the USF/ Heart To Heart/ Mo’MAGIC Summer Literacy program and the Summer Academy Program. In this week’s blog, we hear from our Director of Engage San Francisco, Karin Cotterman, about the literacy initiative our Center works on year round. Since its formal launch in…

Bringing Community Voice to City Hall

Sheryl Evans Davis wears many hats – USF alumnus, McCarthy Center Board member, Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission and now recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from USF! Before her day of recognition for her achievements in making a more just and equitable San Francisco, she gave us some reflections on her journey thus…

Planting Seeds of Change Together

Melissa Tang, Director of Programs, CommunityGrows As San Francisco is dealing with the consequences of unequal economic growth and gentrification, there is a greater need for communities to band together in solidarity. I work for CommunityGrows, a small grassroots youth development organization grown out of the needs of residents from the Western Addition. Twenty-three…

7th Annual Western Addition Backpack Giveaway & Health Fair

Mo’MAGIC’s back-to-school celebration is held the first Saturday of every August, and features free backpacks, school supply kits, and books for students ranging from Pre-K to college age. There is also a health and wellness fair; families can count on vision, hearing, dental, and stress tests, and additional check-ups from medical professionals, and gather resources from other community organizations and city agencies. Healthy meals and snacks, games, a bouncy house, a reading corner, and other activities rounded out the day.