Place
Neighborhood still shapes opportunity in Augusta
Founder Story
Yannik McKie turned pain into purpose.
“Your greatest pain can become your greatest platform.”
After losing both of his parents to AIDS before age sixteen, Yannik McKie spent his teenage years facing depression, anxiety, and deep instability. He knows what it feels like to grow up without consistent support, and that lived experience shapes the way he leads today.
Yannik McKie is a living example of what it means to turn pain into purpose. After losing both of his parents to AIDS before the age of sixteen, he spent his teenage years battling depression, anxiety, and an overwhelming sense of abandonment. He knows what it feels like to grow up without stability, direction, or the emotional safety every child deserves. He also knows what it means to rise.
Through faith, perseverance, and purposeful relationships, Yannik rebuilt his life and now dedicates it to helping young people in Augusta and beyond find hope, healing, and purpose. As the founder of Living in Purpose, he leads Men in Training, workforce and leadership pathways, mentoring for justice-involved youth, and after-school programs in underserved neighborhoods. Students trust him because they see themselves in his story: proof that pain is not an ending point, but a starting point for purpose.
Yannik McKie - Founder & Executive Director
