Entrepreneur Finds Success Helping Kids
John McMillion’s Majestic Mortgage office in Tarzana may be the place where he makes his living, but a quick perusal of his office walls reveals his true passion: helping kids.
Tucked among McMillion’s framed diplomas and business awards are photographs of the 40-year-old businessman with the many young people he has helped launch into careers of their own, in businesses as diverse as real estate, landscaping and music.
“Every time one of the kids passes the real estate exam or earns any degree, I take down one of my certificates and replace it with theirs,” McMillion said. “Pretty soon, these walls will be covered with their achievements.”
McMillion says there is a simple reason why he enjoys helping society’s at-risk children.
“When I see the kids take all that negative energy and watch them make a positive contribution to our society, it’s great,” he said. “When I see a kid who is hurting and hungry, then turn around and make it, it’s fabulous!”
McMillion should know.
The Illinois native was raised in the violence-plagued Cabrini housing projects on Chicago’s South Side, where he witnessed firsthand the toll taken on kids involved in the gang and drug culture.
McMillion’s mother, a medical coordinator at a local hospital, imbued in her son the value of helping those less fortunate, and his altruistic tendencies blossomed early.
“I invited my peers to my mother’s office, so they could see how professionals worked,” McMillion said. “We got them part-time jobs.”
After earning an associate’s degree from Northwestern Business College in Chicago, McMillion took his skills to Citicorp, for whom he worked for a number of years, and began his first mentor program for high school-age kids interested in business.
In 1995, McMillion moved to California, where he established his own mortgage company.
He quickly joined the Tarzana Chamber of Commerce, seeking volunteer opportunities. They sent him to Sandy Kievman, executive director of Keep Youth Doing Something (KYDS), a nonprofit organization that provides free after-school and weekend programs at a number of Valley parks.
The McMillion-KYDS match was perfect.
“John’s contributions have been wonderful. He bought team uniforms and has helped get kids jobs,” Kievman said. “He’s really dedicated.”
In addition to sponsoring the KYDS basketball team at Pacoima’s Hubert Humphrey Park, the eager entrepreneur dug into his personal savings to help put many students through real estate school, serving as their mentor from the first day of classes to the day of the license exams.
The effort has paid off.
“He’s a big influence on minorities,” said Kathy Evans, 29, who credits McMillion with getting her a job with a Chatsworth distribution company. “He’s right there for you. He juices you up and gets you motivated to change your life.”
McMillion is sponsoring a November trip to Sacramento for the nonprofit organization Teens Making a Change, so that the “kids can see how government works.”
“The rebuilding of our communities starts with one kid at a time, one family at a time, one block at a time,” McMillion said. “My gratification comes in seeing them make a positive contribution.”
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