Founding Story

A Need That Could No Longer Be Ignored
Every movement begins with a moment of undeniable truth. For Erika McMillon, that moment did not arrive suddenly. It accumulated quietly over more than two decades of dedicated work alongside young people, watching something that broke her heart again and again: the slow, systemic silencing of youth who were extraordinary, gifted, full of light, and utterly underserved.

With over 20 years of experience across programs, communities, and organizations — including work with Young Life, Sunday School, Boys & Girls Clubs, and multiple community-based initiatives — Erika witnessed firsthand how traditional environments consistently failed to create room for the full expression of who young people truly were. Their voices were minimized. Their gifts went unrecognized. Their leadership potential was overlooked, misdirected, or never given the infrastructure it needed to grow.

The consequences were measurable: youth disengaging from education, seeking belonging in spaces that did not serve their highest good, and internalizing the false belief that they were not capable, not worthy, and not powerful. Families bore the weight of watching their children navigate a world that had failed to invest in them. Communities lost the leaders, innovators, and change-makers they desperately needed.
Erika knew this did not have to be the story.

From Movement to Ministry: The Birth of I Am Young Power
I Am Young Power began not as an organization, but as a movement — small, intentional, and immediately powerful.

Drawing on years of youth-facing work and deep conviction, Erika began gathering a small group of young people she knew personally. There were no grants. No budget. No formal structure. There was only a vision and a willingness to show up.

What those early gatherings created was unlike anything these young people had experienced: a space that believed in them before they believed in themselves. A space that asked them what they thought, what they dreamed, what they were afraid of, and what they were capable of. A space that treated their voices not as noise to be managed, but as power to be cultivated.

The response was immediate and unmistakable. Young people came alive. They were engaged. They returned — and brought others. It became clear that something real had been touched. Something these young people had been hungry for, perhaps without knowing the word for what they needed.

From Grassroots to Nonprofit: The Strategic Decision
As the momentum of I Am Young Power grew, so did Erika’s sense of responsibility. The impact being created was undeniable — but it was also limited by the absence of resources, structure, and reach that only an established organization could provide.

The decision to formalize as a nonprofit was deliberate and strategic. Not simply an administrative step — it was a declaration of commitment to ensuring that what started with a small group of young people could grow to serve an entire state, and ultimately, far beyond.
The nonprofit structure was chosen intentionally because Erika understood that true community-scale impact requires community-scale support. By establishing I Am Young Power as a 501(c)(3), the organization gained the ability to pursue grants, build partnerships, engage corporate and civic allies, and deploy resources in a sustainable, accountable way — all in service of the young people who need it most.