What started out as a message on a sticky Post It note blossomed into an initiative to heal, unite, and empower the community.

During the summer of 2007 my sister, Shan’Dreka Hale, and I were living in Hattiesburg, MS. My parents were moving from our childhood home to another location and we had to return home to gather our belongings. On that trip, Shan handed me a yellow sticky note that said M.A.G.I.C., Making A Great Impact in the Community. She proceeded to say that God told her to inform me that I would have a nonprofit organization called M.A.G.I.C. that would change our hometown. She planted that seed into my spirit and I kept the sticky note in the ashtray of my car until I sold my car 7 years later.

It wasn’t until 2017, 10 years after Shan planted the seed, that M.A.G.I.C. was incorporated with the State of Mississippi as a nonprofit organization. Since then, M.A.G.I.C. has held events that heal, unite, and empower citizens of the Mississippi Delta through community partnerships and enrichment activities. Suffice it to say, it’s not about how long it takes you to start, but rather what you do in the preparation process, that decides your level of community engagement and impact.

“Our affect will often determine our effect” (anonymous author). In essence, the way we impact and influence change during our engagement with others will determine the outcome or end result of that relationship, partnership, or friendship. In order to truly promote and impact change, it is imperative that we are cognizant of our interactions with others. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. We must help others get to the root of anything that prohibits and restricts their growth, provide support as they heal, and encourage the continued transition and maturation of everyone we meet.

As the Founder and Executive Director of M.A.G.I.C., my heart desires to see individuals healed, communities unified, and cities empowered. It is my earnest hope that all who attend M.A.G.I.C. events not leave the same way they came. I pray that anyone who encounters M.A.G.I.C. is inspired, motivated, and equipped with the wherewithal to impact change in the lives of those they meet.