Our History
A Legacy of Impact
In 1897, activists & sisters Rachel (Rae) and Eva Wolfsohn of San Francisco established the first settlement house servicing girls in Northern California. Focused on alleviating poverty in urban areas through cultural programs and education, the settlement house became an anchor in the community, with its shifting generations of immigrants and working poor who followed.
This Girls Club of San Francisco continued to be a safe and inspiring gathering place for girls of all ages and backgrounds, offering a wide variety of practical skills classes, cultural activities, and the opportunity to develop friendships and support.
In 1942, the Girls Club of San Francisco was enveloped as a core program of a greater organization called Mission Community Center, which also delivered social services for boys and families.
In 1959, Mission Community Center merged with two additional neighborhood centers called Precita Valley Community Center and Mission Family Center, forming what is known today as MNC.
The Meaning of the MNC Logo
The MNC logo represents various elements of a labyrinth. The circles denote life cycles, the colors which have morphed from the original logo, represent the various ethnicities of people of color, e.g., Latino (Brown), African American (Black), Indigenous (Red), PI/Asian (Yellow). In the middle of the circle, the dot represents the head of a human being and the outer circles represent his/her body and arms.
