 Every few weeks, an envelope like this shows up. No return address. Typed. Not handwritten. No clues. Just a money order, made out to Move-In Day Mafia, and nothing else. No name. No note. No explanation. And then...just like that...nothing. No follow-up. No signature. No way to say thank you. If you are new here...welcome to the Mafia Miracles Report. I'm TeeJ, the person responsible for steering this ship. Move-In Day Mafia provides decked-out dorm rooms and monthly care packages to HBCU scholars who have aged out of foster and kinship care, are unhoused, or are navigating college completely on their own. We do this for four years: move-in day, and every month after, until they walk across that stage. This is where we celebrate the miracles. Now. Back to the mystery. Whoever this is...They are committed to their anonymity in a way that honestly impresses me and makes me smile. So here we are. Talking about someone we cannot see. Thanking someone we cannot reach. Celebrating someone who, as far as we know, has never asked for a single thing in return. If you are reading this and this is you OR you know who this is... Whoever you are: THANK YOU! FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. Not just for the money. For the consistency. For showing up, quietly, on a schedule that nobody gave you, for a mission you clearly believe in. You don't get the credit. You don't get the recognition. You made sure of that. But the scholars you're helping? They don't know your name either. They just know that Move-In Day Mafia said yes to them. And you, without ever introducing yourself, are part of why we could. Every time I pick up the mail and see this familiar envelope, I chuckle. That's a kind of generosity that doesn't need an audience. I see it. And I just want you to know: WE FEEL IT!  Every month when our scholars submit their care package requests, they have to finish a sentence. They choose one: “I’m grateful that…” “I’m excited that…” “I’m looking forward to…” So we like to share some with you:   I told my Chief of Staff I applied for a job.
She laughed. I told my mama. She laughed. I told one of my besties. He laughed. Everybody is laughing at me. BUT. When I let them finish and told them what KIND of job? Everybody except my mama came around. 🤣🤣🤣 She still doesn't believe it. Here's what happened. A little while back, I had an experience that reminded me of a dream I've carried for a long time: hosting a TV game show. I won't unpack the whole thing right now. But it woke something up in me. Now. You have to understand how God gets down with me. I don't wait for the door to open before I start preparing for what's behind it. So step one: I signed up for an Introductory Improv class. Liked it. Signed up for weekly classes. Then my next instruction came. Apply for a host position at one of those Immersive Game Show Experiences here in Atlanta. You know the ones. A group of people go in and play games straight out of Price Is Right, Jeopardy, that whole era. They're popping up around the country like Escape Rooms. So I applied. Sent my resume around 2 pm. An hour later? They asked me to schedule an interview. 🤯🤯🤯🤯 I go Sunday!!! Here's why I'm telling YOU this. You might have a dream that has been asleep so long you've almost convinced yourself it died. I double dog dare you to put your big dream up against a BIGGER God and watch some mountains move. And then ask yourself: what are YOU actually doing to prepare for it? I might not get this job. But one thing God won't be able to say about this kid is that she refused to try. And before you worry: I'm still here. Still the person responsible for steering this ship. The scholars are covered. This is just your TeeJ using her other gifts to bring joy. And I promise I won't act funny when you see me on TV one day. Who knows, I just might become the person to welcome you to the "Showcase Showdown."🤪 Stay tuned. Keep dreaming. Put in the work. I am. 💜  Straight off the first week of classes, one of our scholars came out SWINGING. And I mean that literally. But first... If you are new here...welcome to the Mafia Miracles Report. I'm TeeJ, the person responsible for steering this ship. Move-In Day Mafia provides fully-equipped dorm rooms and monthly care packages to HBCU scholars who have aged out of foster and kinship care, are unhoused, or are navigating college completely on their own. We do this for four years: move-in day, and every month after, until they walk across that stage. This is where we celebrate the miracles. Let's get into it. At the top of August, one of our scholars, F.T. was scheduled to move-in at her HBCU. She had everything lined up. But at the last minute, her uncle (the person who promised to get her there from Illinois) not only backed out but he told her he'd be taking her to a whole other state and would have to figure out the rest on her own. For a young woman who has been in and out of foster and group homes for years because her parents simply could not get it together for her and her siblings...that betrayal hit different. Sooooooo! Move-In Day Mafia leaped into action. With the help of some of you (yes, YOU) we got F.T. to school. We decked out her dorm room with decorations that give her a sense of stability and joy. She walked into her room surrounded by people who showed up for her, maybe for the first time in a long time.  Oh. But wait...I'm not done... This move-in season, we moved in a total of 18 students across 8 HBCUs. Monday was their orientation with us. I asked for volunteers to share how their first week(s) of school had been. What they'd been up to. What was new. Ooooooweeeee when this baby raised her hand, I wasn't ready for what she'd told she'd been up to. Guess what Y'all! SHE IS RUNNING FOR FRESHMAN CLASS PRESIDENT FOR THE COLLEGE OF NURSING!!! Baaaaaby. F.T. did not ease into her freshman year. She came in ready to step up to bat and SWING. I'm smiling even as I type this because I know this baby's story. I know what she has fought through to get there. Our scholars have Ph.D.'s in Resilience already. Every single one of them. And to see her, and all 18 of our move-in season students, push through to get their education? It warms my heart and makes me smile down to my soul. Laaaaaawd. Thank y'all for helping us say yes to these scholars. Because of you, F.T. got there ready. Move-In Season 2026. We Just Came Out The Other Side. This made move-in season #5. F-I-V-E. And a move-in team that showed up and showed OUT moving in 18 students at 8 HBCUs, with three teams going on in THREE different stages on the same day! OUR TOTAL? 127 Scholars. 32 HBCUs total later and I feel like this next phase is going to be epic. We are not done celebrating yet. As soon as we get the footage sorted, you are going to SEE this season, not just hear about it. We have video, photos, and moments that need to be seen to be believed. And trust me when I say...you are going to want to see them. So stay close. That's coming. But for right now? We just want to breathe for one second and say: WE DID IT. This move-in season was funded by a Mafia history-making grant by the T.D. Jakes Foundation! I wrote all about this miracle in last week's MMReport and told you how falling on my face landed me into a miracle. You can check it out here. Another season of yes. Another season of scholars walking into rooms they never expected. Another season of watching this mission do what God said it would do. We are so grateful for every volunteer, every donor, every person who said yes alongside us. More to come. Stay tuned.  Every month when our scholars submit their care package requests, they have to finish a sentence. They choose one: “I’m grateful that…” “I’m excited that…” “I’m looking forward to…” So we like to share some with you:  ONE MORE THING I'm often asked by some of you how can you help more or are there any specific things we need for our students. Well, we've been toying around with the thought of creating one special page on our website that would list student special requests. For example, we currently have students requesting:
We don't have full deets on exactly how it works yet but would you let me know if you like this idea. Either comment or shoot us an email at [email protected] See you next week. Until then....Hug yourself for me. 💜  If this were a TikTok video, this would be one of those that would start: "Yeah, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up here." Whelp! I have been sitting on something for MONTHS. Like Moooooonths. And it's the hardest thing for my team and me to keep secret. If you were at THEE HBCU Bingo Xperience, you might have heard it. But most have probably been out here living your lives, minding your business, not knowing what I have been carrying around, trying not to scream about. But finally... THE T.D. JAKES FOUNDATION CHOSE US. AND IT IS THE LARGEST GRANT IN MAFIA HISTORY!!!! Cue the screams now...Ok my screams...not yours. But if you know our testimony, then you probably did at least a little squeal, right? If you are new here... welcome to the Mafia Miracles Report. Every week I share what is happening inside Move-In Day Mafia, a nonprofit that supports HBCU students who have aged out of foster/kinship care, are unhoused, or are navigating the demands of college on their own. We deck out dorm rooms and deliver monthly care packages for four years. I'm TeeJ, the person responsible for steering this ship. WHO IS T.D. JAKES? If you are not already familiar, Bishop T.D. Jakes is the founder of The Potter's House, a 30,000-member church in Dallas. TIME magazine has called him "America's Best Preacher" and named him one of the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America. He is an author, a filmmaker, a global voice. The man has a FOUNDATION named after him that distributes millions in grants to nonprofits. I have followed Bishop Jakes for about 30 years. Read his books. Attended his conferences. Listened to his sermons at every turn in my life when I needed to hear something that made sense. Never in a million years did I think my little name would be in the same sentence as his. And yet... WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS... Jack & Jill of America has become a big fan of the Mafia. Multiple chapters have raised money for us. So when they invited me to their Southern Regional Conference in Austin to be presented with a donation check for Mafia, I almost didn't go because of a scheduling conflict. But the Holy Spirit was like, "Figure it out." So there I am. They'd asked me to say a few words of motivation for the room before the presentation. I walked out on stage, missed a step, and went FLAILING in front of hundreds of people. Full on. Flat. On my face.  But get this... I wasn't even embarrassed. The whole room went quiet with such concern that, in a split second, I had a completely different motivational speech. Just like that. Off the top. Because the moment was right there, the reminder that vulnerability doesn't disqualify you. It connects you. Not to mention...everybody falls at something, but in the words of gospel great Donnie McClurkin..."We get up!" Now, what I didn't know was that there was a woman named Bobby Bryant who was witnessing my unintentional acrobatic act. Bobby had just started at the T.D. Jakes Foundation. And when her boss asked for suggestions of nonprofits to partner with for the upcoming Thriving Seven Summit in Atlanta, guess whose name came to mind? Yup. The woman who went flailing on stage. And guess what else...OMG OMG OMG Apparently falling on my face wasn’t the end of the story. This November, Move-In Day Mafia is the official philanthropic partner for the T7 Summit, presented by Wells Fargo!!!!! Crazy thing is, they probably told me that news earlier but it still didn't hit me until HBCU Bingo Xperience last month and they brought flyers. OMG...Right there was Move-In Day Mafia's logo!  It took aaaaaaall of me not to embarrass my mama and act a fool when they showed the flyer to me on the red carpet. Taking place November 12–14 in Atlanta, T7 brings together leaders, innovators, and mission-driven organizations across business, technology, media, wellness and social impact, connecting people and organizations to relationships, resources and opportunities that can help scale their impact. Plus! I got a surprise for YOU...So keep reading. THE MOMENT I STOPPED LISTENING If you have never met me, then you don't know I'm a crybaby, especially when I get news that blows me away. When the Foundation zoomed with my team to share the news that we got the grant, they mentioned the amount like it was just another item on the agenda. Our benefactor kept talking. I stopped listening. Completely. Gone. Just gone. I could not even fake it anymore. I finally interrupted: "Sorry, Y'all, but I have to confess. I didn't hear you say anything after you mentioned how much the grant would be." And then I lost all professionalism and cried. Full tears. On a work call. With the TD Jakes Foundation. LawdHamMussyGeezus.🤦🏾♀️ But wait...There's more! I got the hookup for YOU! If you want to come to the summit and connect with like-minded folks who want to make impact, I gotchu. Because you are connected to us, I have a special code you can use for 50% off any level of registration. The catch? You have to purchase by August 31, 2026! That's it. So skip over to t7summit.com, use code MIDMPartner50, and I'll see you at the summit. Be sure to stop me and grab a hug. WHAT IT ALL MEANS The T.D. Jakes Foundation is the partner of the inaugural Move-In Day Mafia Scholar Circle. That means they are not just writing a check and walking away. They are covering our 18 new scholars, every single one we moved in this 2026-27 season, fully. The Scholar Circle funds move-in day (we are talking a completely decked-out dorm room, built from scratch), PLUS monthly care packages, PLUS full wrap-around support through the entire year. Eighteen scholars. Eighteen rooms. Twelve months of care packages. Every. Single. One. With these 18 new scholars added, it brings our total to 127 scholars moved in at 32 HBCUs. One hundred and twenty-seven. 32 schools. AND BY THE WAY... I never finished the Jack & Jill story. After I picked myself up off that stage... They presented us with a check for $15,000!!!!  I freaked the whole room out when I took off RUNNING...Again! Laaaaaawd. I'm sure they were thinking..."The woman just fell off the stage. And now she's running again?" The room did not know what to do with me.  What can I say? I cry or run whenever I'm happy watching God surprise me. Thank you Jack & Jill and thank you T.D. Jakes Foundation! ONE LAST THING. IT ENDS TODAY. We are in the final hours of Adopt A Scholar Week. New to Mafia? Once a month (14-21st), our scholars share wishlists of the things they need for the next month. Things like cleaning supplies, kitchen essentials, laundry detergent. Items start at $3, and you, our Mafia Miracle Makers, pull together and purchase. If you are like me and don't like shopping, you can donate, and we handle the rest. Today is the last day, and here are a few items that are left.  MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar We celebrate what the T.D. Jakes Foundation did for our incoming scholars. Aaaand we keep going for the returning scholars who need us. Hug yourself for me. See you next week!  Heeeeeey Mafia Miracle Maker. We are in the midst of our FIFTH move-in season. About 15 years ago, I prayed what I thought was the most ridiculous prayer I had ever prayed in my life. I was sitting somewhere. I still remember the spot. And I felt immediately, completely stupid for even saying it out loud. Here it is. "Lord I want to travel around. Hug a bunch of people. And surprise them." That's it. That was the whole prayer. I had no idea what it meant. I had no plan. I had no framework. My heart just... said that. And my brain immediately responded with: what does that even mean, TeeJ? And yet... ABOUT THAT STUPID LITTLE PRAYER Today, I TRAVEL to HBCUs. I HUG a bunch of HBCU students. And I SURPRISE them with decked-out dorm rooms. That prayer I thought was stupid? I had no idea that it would lead me to the BEST JOB EVER! SMILE PRODUCERS This week we kicked off our 5th move-in season. Seven scholars walked into their rooms this past week. Seven.   LOOK. AT. THOSE. FACES. Joy! Pure Joy! That is the split second. The exact moment they see what we built for them. Before they know what to say. Before they find the words. That is the prayer. Right there. Answered. Seven times over. YOUR GUESS COULD WIN We moved in one of our Livingstone College scholars this past weekend. What in the world did we give him that made him light up like this?  Wanna guess to win? Send your best guess to [email protected] with the subject line Smile Producer. Every right guess goes into a drawing. One winner takes home Mafia merch. WE STILL NEED YOU Move-in season is in full effect. This Saturday, August 8, we are on the ground at two schools: - Howard University in Washington, D.C. - Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. If you are anywhere near either of those campuses, or you know someone who is, I am asking you personally to show up.  Sign up to volunteer: MoveInDayMafia.org/MoveIn If you can't make it in person, you can still show up right here: MoveInDayMafia.org/Donate Every dollar funds the moments you just saw in those photos. Let's go get them. 💜 See you next week and don't forget to send in your guess. Hug yourself for me.  Mafia Miracle Maker. Tomorrow is August 1. Move-in season starts in the morning. I have been trying to find the right words for this moment all week and I keep coming up short. So I am just going to say it plain. Five years ago, three of us drove to Dallas with $3,500 and a whole lot of nerve. We moved in 13 scholars at 1 HBCU. Tomorrow, we kick off the season by moving in 18 scholars at 8 HBCUs. By the end our numbers will be... Thirty-two HBCUs. 109 scholars! I need you to hold that number for a second. Not because it is impressive. Because every single one of those numbers is a person. A real human being who showed up to college without a safety net, and looked up and found us there. That is the miracle. Every time. And with hundreds of thousands of dollars donated. Plus, thousands of hours donated. Not to mention, countless volunteers. I want you to hear it straight from the scholars. What all of it actually means. Because I can describe what we do all day long. But nothing I say will ever hit the way THEY do.  These are real words from real scholars. Unedited. Unprompted. We simply asked "What does Mafia mean to you?"  THE MOMENTUM BEHIND THE MAFIA You are used to seeing me hyped up and loud about this work. But now I want to show you something most don't get to see. Before one scholar walks into a room. Before one volunteer shows up. Before one care package is packed. There are people working. You see, many of our scholars come from environments where they were sleeping in basements. On floors. Surrounded by boxes. Some have never had a bedroom that was truly theirs. So when they arrive at an HBCU, alone, with whatever they could carry, they are not just moving into a dorm room. They are stepping into the first space in their lives that has ever been built just for them. And that is exactly how we treat it. Nikki Njeri Klugh and her team of designers build out every scholar's room. Not a generic setup. A fully designed space. Before a scholar ever moves in, we send them an exhaustive questionnaire. Their favorite colors. Their interests. The things that make them feel at home. And you know what? Some of them are stunned that we even asked. Because nobody has asked before. Then, LaTerra Wise and Mina Starks take those answers and build out the special touches. The items a scholar spots when they first walk in the room and know, without anyone having to say it, that somebody was paying attention. That somebody cared enough to pick this out specifically for them. LaTerra, Nikki, and Mina have been with me since before Day One of Mafia. Yesterday morning, I was not even out of bed yet when my phone rang. It was LaTerra. Excited and overflowing with joy, describing aaaaaall the items she had found to make sure our scholars know we SEE them. At that hour. I'll be honest. My excitement was not matching hers yet. My brain had not fully woken up. But once it did? I just kept thinking: how blessed am I to have people who love these babies this much.  This is the momentum behind the mafia. MOVE-IN MANIA: WE NEED YOU One of our new incoming scholars got his first apartment this year. When we told him we had a budget for one room and asked which one, I expected him to say the living room. The kitchen. Something big. He said, "Auntie, if I could get a bed, that's all I really need." He had been sleeping on an air mattress for months. His back was paying for it every single morning. I melted. Then his Getting To Know You form came in. In the special requests section, he wrote this:  A bed frame. That is what he called a gamechanger. If you can help us get this scholar a bed near Dayton or Cincinnati, shoot us an email: [email protected] We also have scholars who put sewing as an interest. We want to get them sewing machines. $105 each. Want to cover one? Shoot us an email: [email protected] That is what we do. We ask. We listen. We show up. But we need YOU to show up too on a move-in day if you can. Check out where we'll be this year.  Sign up to volunteer: MoveInDayMafia.org/MoveIn If these scholar stories moved you, share this edition. Post it. Text it to one person. Every share is one more person who learns what these scholars are doing and why this work matters. Hug yourself for me. TeeJ  Laaaaawd Mafia Miracle Maker. I was supposed to give you a full recap of THEE HBCU Bingo Xperience but I don't have our professional pics in yet, and I need you to SEE it, not just told about it. But before I push Bingo completely off 'til next week, I have to tell you something that happened AT Bingo that you need to know right now. Because it leads directly into everything I want to share in this week's edition. At the event, we presented an award for the very first time. We called it "Our First Mafia Miracle Maker." And the woman who received it is the reason Move-In Day Mafia got off the ground. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back up. Way back. IT'S MOVE-IN MANIA 2026 This August marks our FIFTH move-in season. F-I-V-E. 109 scholars. 28 HBCUs. And this year? We are moving in students at 8 schools and adding 4 brand new ones. Livingstone College. Stillman College. Xavier University. Central State University. That brings our total to 32 HBCUs. Thirty-two campuses where a scholar who has been navigating college completely alone is going to look up and see a family that showed up just for them. I want to scream a little bit. Okay, a whole lot. But I'll keep it together. For now. Because none of this, not one single scholar, not one campus, not one care package, would exist without what happened on August 10, 2022. THE MIRACLE THAT STARTED IT ALL I knew two things going into our very first move-in season. We were supposed to move in 13 students. And we were going to do it at Paul Quinn College in Dallas. The HOW? A complete mystery. My team at the time was LaTerra Wise, who is now our Chief of Staff, and Nikki Klugh, our designer. Today, Mafia doesn't move without these two forces. So there we were...The three of us headed to Dallas with $3,500 we had raised, knowing full well that $3,500 would barely scratch the surface for one student, let alone 13. But we went anyway. Because the vision was real even when the provision wasn't visible...yet. Let me tell you what that Airbnb felt like that morning. Whew! Nikki had gone for her morning run. LaTerra was moving around like everything was going swimmingly. Calm. Preparing. Meanwhile, I was tucked away in my bedroom. Sweating. Praying. Reminding God, just in case He had done a slow blink, that we still needed $17,000 more and we had exactly one hour before we had to walk out that door. And then I heard it. Call Teri Ijeoma. Now listen. Teri was a former media coaching client of mine. I knew she was living in Puerto Rico. I did not even know what time it was in Puerto Rico. And I definitely did not know her like THAT.  Knees knocking. Teeth chattering. I called. She answered. I described the mission. I described Mafia. I described the vision. And the very last thing I said was: "God told me to move in 13 students. We raised $3,500. But we are short." She asked, "How short?" Whew Laaaaaaawd. I could barely get it out. "$17,000." My stomach was in knots. Teri Ijeoma said, "You'll have it in an hour." I nearly dropped the phone. I stifled the scream that was rising up because I did not want Teri to think I was a crazy person. When we hung up, that scream escaped. It was so loud that Nikki heard it from outside, thought something was wrong, and came running back in the house. That was the moment I knew. This was going to be a miracle-walking, faith-inducing journey. Every single year since, I have watched God confirm our hashtag: #WeBelieveInMiraclesForMoveInDayMafia When she is not being Mafia's First Miracle Maker, Teri Ijeoma is one of the most respected voices in the business of helping people build wealth through investing. Her book, A Risk Worth Taking, is exactly what it sounds like. And I cannot tell you how fitting it is that the woman who bet on Move-In Day Mafia with $17,000 and a phone call wrote a book about that. And Teri was not just at HBCU Bingo to collect her award. A Risk Worth Taking became a whole moment that night. Something people are still talking about. I cannot wait to show you the pictures when they come in.  MOVE-IN MANIA: WE NEED YOU Move-in season runs August 1-10. We are heading to 8 schools and we cannot do this without volunteers.  Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC is our biggest move-in this year (8 students) and we need about 40 volunteers. If you can show up, sign up. If you can't make it, send this to someone who can. Sign up to volunteer: MoveInDayMafia.org/MoveIn Got questions? Email Zoila at [email protected]    Yesterday I did something I have never done in my entire life. I had to be convinced and damn near threatened to say yes. And I only said yes for one reason. It would benefit Move-In Day Mafia. It was still uncomfortable. I am not going to pretend it wasn't. But I was actually pretty good at it. And I want you to sit with that for a second. Because I think you have been there too. Missions and callings do not wait until you feel ready. They do not ask if it is convenient. They just show up and say: will you do this thing you have never done, the thing that makes you uncomfortable, the thing somebody practically had to drag you into? And sometimes, on the other side of that yes, you find out you were more capable than you ever gave yourself credit for. I am betting you have had a version of that moment. The thing you almost said no to. The thing someone pushed you toward. The thing that turned out to be yours all along. I signed an NDA so I cannot tell you what it was. Not yet. Several months from now, I will tell you everything. And I think you are going to laugh. But what I will say is this. I walked out of that experience a little shaky, a little humbled, genuinely surprised by myself, and completely certain I would do it again tomorrow if it meant one more person learned about our scholars. So if somebody is pushing you toward something right now? Something for a mission or a calling that is bigger than your comfort zone? Keep going. Say yes. You might surprise yourself. And looking a little uncomfortable along the way is the easiest sacrifice you will ever make. Alright, that's it for this week. Don't forget to sign up to volunteer if you can OR share please! MoveInDayMafia.org/MoveIn  I had a whole different plan for you this week. I was going to sit you down and tell you every amazing thing that happened at THEE HBCU Bingo Xperience, our annual fundraiser, last Saturday. The draft was written! And ready to go until... I read through this month's scholars care package form, where they have to share good news or things they were excited about. Buried in this section, was an unexpected treat that brought tears to my eyes and validation to my heart. So I'll just have to share HBCU Bingo with you next week. But wait. If you are new here... welcome to the Mafia Miracle Report. Every week I share what is happening inside Move-In Day Mafia, a nonprofit that supports HBCU students who have aged out of foster/kinship care, are unhoused, or are navigating the demands of college on their own. We deck out dorm rooms and deliver monthly care packages. I'm TeeJ, the founder and I'm glad you're here. And since 2022, we have moved in 109 Scholars at 28 HBCUs! She Used to Sleep Behind an AutoZone. There was a season of M.N.'s life when she did not have a bed to sleep in. Not a couch. Not a floor at a friend's house. The best she could do was find safety behind an AutoZone. I need you to sit with that. And although it wasn't a straight path, she still made it to college. And not just make it... She went on to graduate number four in her class! Unless she goes on to grad school at an HBCU, this will be her last official care package from Move-In Day Mafia. We continue support for 3 months post graduation. On this care package form, M.N. shared her heart. These are her unedited words. "I was recently able to purchase a vehicle, I’m not sure if I said that in my last care package form but I’m still very excited about it. I’ve been wanting a car for a very long time and the sense of independence that comes with it. I’m so grateful that I was able to purchase it and to do it on my own. I’m very proud of this accomplishment. I’m very grateful for my family at move in day mafia, I don’t take lightly the words of encouragement and sense of safety I feel with you all. I greatly appreciate just knowing that you all are there for me. In my eyes it’s about way more than the monetary value you all bring, it’s the emotional and mental support that help me to get through the hard feelings and bad times. To Ms.Niqua, I would like to specifically thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your support and your willingness to help me. No matter how bad things get or the time of day, you’ve always taken out the time to speak with me and speak life into me. There have been plenty of instances where I didn’t know what to do or where to go or what to look for to get out of certain situations and through your love, support, and advice, I was able to figure it out. I pray for you often, I pray that all of the good you’ve poured into me comes back to you 10 fold, that one day I’m able to pour back into you and into move in day mafia. From the moment you became my mentor, you’ve never left my side, and that’s a debt I can never repay, but I’ll spend the rest of my life trying. I hope to make you very proud in the future. To Auntie TeeJ, initially when trying to enroll in this program, I didn’t know how big of an effect it would have on not only my college career but also on my life and my perspective of people. I always had people who would say they care and then leave me to fend for myself, I always had people who would say they love me, then hurt me, I had people who were supposed to be my safe space, but I never felt at ease. I’m blessed to say that with you and this company, I feel loved, supported, cared for, and safe. You are such an amazing person and this work that you’re doing means more than you can even imagine. I’m happy to know that people who have been in my position, that have experienced things similar to what I have, will never be alone again, and they’ll have the chance to succeed and know that they deserve it. I truly view you all as my family and I can’t say it enough, thank you, thank you, thank you for believing in me and believing in this mission to further the education and support of people like me. I hope to make you very very proud one day. My last care package form🫶🏾 much love from your favorite niece." Did her words hit you as hard as they hit me? H.U.G.S. Hope + Understanding + Generosity = Stability. That was the guiding principle I knew I needed to build Mafia around. I did not know how I was going to build it. I did not know who would show up. I did not have a roadmap. But I knew that if we could pour those four things into a scholar consistently, something would shift. Something would stabilize. And stability changes everything for a young person who has never had it. Our students have slept in basements with boxes, never knowing when the rug would be yanked out from under them. So if you are here reading this, then there's a pretty good chance that M.N. is thanking YOU! Every time you bought toothpaste. Every time you bought deodorant. Every time you bought detergent every time you helped us pay for a flight to an internship. Every time you contributed to a temporary Airbnb to keep them safe. You were providing H.U.G.S.! And I thank you. ADOPT A SCHOLAR WEEK The key way we provide H.U.G.S. happens from the 14th - 21st of every month through Amazon wishlists. With items to fit various budgets, just head over to MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar One thing though...we are in what we call Summer Survival Season. Our students are often in between places, which means Amazon deliveries are not predictable for them. So instead of items off a wishlist, for some scholars, we send them $25 Visa gift cards so they can get what they need, wherever they are. We need all items purchased by the 21st.  MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar Hug yourself for me and I'll see you next week to tell you all about HBCU BINGO! 💜 P. S. Can you share this blog with someone who appreciates our work and want to shop for a scholar too?  Oooooooweeee. This is the kind of news I would normally text to HER first. But today? I need y'all to know too. I finally got it. I finally got the confirmation. My girl Sherri Shepherd is coming back to perform at Theeee HBCU Bingo Xperience on Saturday, July 11, 2026 at the Morrow Center in Atlanta. She is bringing a live comedy set to that stage. And if you know Sherri...she won't just stay on it. AND before General Admission doors even open, she will be at the Miracle Maker VIP Reception for a private meet and greet. Tickets are limited for that. So grab 'em if you want to be in that room. ==MoveInDayMafia.org/HBCUBingo== She Ain't New to This. She's True to This. Now let me tell you why Sherri saying yes hits different. She is a Day One Mafia Supporter. She's watched me build this thing from the ground up. So we've developed a rhythm. If I send Sherri a text that starts with "OMG OMG OMG OMG," she knows to sit down. Because what will follow is another unbelievable God move. Sherri Shepherd is not a celebrity we booked. She believes in the mission wholeheartedly. She is our Mafia Ambassador. Has been loooooong before there was the first dorm room move-in at Paul Quinn in 2022. Loooooong before there was structure. Looooooong before there were pillars that represented H.U.G.S. (Hope + Understanding + Generosity = Stability) Before the Morrow Center. Before 250 people in one room. Before any of this made sense to anybody but me. She was watching. Texting back. Praying. Using her platform.  And she has been putting her whole self behind this mission. Like when she went on Celebrity Jeopardy. She knew going in that Jeopardy was not her thing. She said as much. But she knew her appearance would bring Mafia $30,000. And she showed up anyway. We laugh still to this day, because she finished with $75. Talked about it on her own show like it was the funniest thing that ever happened to her. (It kind of was.) But guess what? Move-In Day Mafia got our $30,000! Plus, donations that are still coming in to this day!  Then came the Christmas episode of Celebrity Family Feud. Now, this was more of her speed. She was supposed to hit the buzzer. She hit the mic instead. Lost to Shaquille O'Neal. LawdHamMussyGeezus! But guess what THAT "loss" got us: $25,000 more for MIDM scholars!!!!! And Steve Harvey standing on national television saying the words "Move-In Day Mafia" to millions of people. Yeah...More donations. I'm still mindblown. And then last year? She showed up at HBCU Bingo Xperience 2025. She lit that stage on fire and had people doing hold your stomach, slap your neighbor-I can't breathe laughter. She danced. She laughed. She did a meet and greet. This year, we genuinely didn't think her schedule would allow it. She made it happen anyway. That is Sherri Shepherd. Daytime Emmy winner. NAACP Image Award Winner. The View. 30 Rock. The Sex Lives of College Girls. Straw. Her own talk show. A woman whose calendar is not easy to get on. She moved things around and said yes. Again. THE XPERIENCE! Think sneaker ball meets HBCU Homecoming... with a Bingo twist. Sherri brings the laughs with a live comedy set. The Red Sample Band returns and if you were there last year, you already know their HBCU sound immediately transports you back to the yard. Remember the Best Buy Blizzard where people grabbed money literally out of the air? This year we have the Delta Cash Dash and it is giving the same energy. There is also the Amazon Deck the Dorm competition where strangers become teammates racing to furnish a whole dorm room against the clock. D9 strolls. HBCU anthems. Prizes that will have people walking out shaking their heads in the best possible way. And you don't have to be an HBCU alum to have the time of your life. You just have to love a great night and a great cause. At some point in the evening, you will meet two of our scholars. Live. In that room. Not a video. Not a slide. THEM. You will look them in the eye and know exactly who you showed up for. Get Your Tickets Before the VIP Spots Are Gone General Admission starts at $107 in honor of the original 107 HBCUs. VIP Miracle Maker tickets include premium reserved seating, a swag bag, a drink ticket, and the private meet and greet with Sherri before the night even starts. Those spots will go. Do not wait and then be sad about it. ==MoveInDayMafia.org/HBCUBingo== Saturday, July 11, 2026. Morrow Center. Atlanta, GA. 7pm. (VIP at 6pm) Theeee HBCU Bingo Xperience.    "Last year's Bingo stressed me tf out. Sign me up again." — Dr. Brandi Rae Hicks  And she wasn't lying. Dr. Brandi is the one standing, having aaaaaalll the fun.  And get this...she was celebrating someone else's win. Check out her joy on the left side.  But wait... If you are new here... welcome to the Mafia Miracle Report. Every week I share what is happening inside Move-In Day Mafia, a nonprofit that supports foster care/kindship care and unhoused college scholars at HBCUs with dorm room makeovers, care packages, move-in support, and community. I'm TeeJ, the founder and I'm glad you're here. Now back to Dr. Brandie's joy. She did not have to testify like that. Nobody asked. She just... did it. And I screenshotted it immediately because THAT is exactly what last year's Bingo was. It was stressful in the best possible way. It was loud. It was full. It was a room full of strangers who turned into teammates who turned into family. All for scholars they had never met. THE BOUGIE A$$ BINGO IS BACK Officially? It's called Theeee HBCU Bingo Xperience. Saturday, July 11, 2026. 7pm. Atlanta. 👉🏽 MoveInDayMafia.org/HBCUBingo And the best part? You don't have to be an HBCU alum to have a great time. You just have to be willing to lean into joy, love the Mafia mission, and be ready to win big just like Chris here.  If you were there last year, you already know what you signed up for. And if you weren't? Let me tell you what you missed. It was OFF. THE. CHAIN. Sherri Shepherd brought the funny in her comedy set. The Best Buy Blizzard, where people were grabbing money literally OUT OF THE AIR. The Amazon Deck the Dorm competition, where strangers became teammates trying to furnish a whole dorm room against the clock.  The D9 strolling. HBCU-themed Bingo cards. HBCU anthems blasting and every single person in that room just... feeling it. Together. And then there was a moment nobody saw coming. I'm still not telling. 😏 This year? We are going... BIGGER VENUE. BIGGEST FUN! A silent auction. Surprises I cannot talk about yet. Prizes that are gonna make people walk out shaking their heads in the best way. Now. If you want the FULL experience? The Miracle Maker VIP Reception is where your night starts. Before General Admission even walks through the door, you are already inside. Premium reserved seating. Extra bingo cards. A swag bag. A caricature artist. An exclusive VIP-only game. Early access. All of it. It is A. WHOLE. THING. And at some point in the evening? You are going to meet two of our scholars. Live. In that room. Not a video. Not a slide. Them. Look them in the eye and know exactly who you showed up for. General Admission is $107. Not a random number. In honor of the original 107 HBCUs. Every ticket is intentional. Here is the one thing I need you to do right now. Early bird pricing ends June 19. Juneteenth. After that, the price goes up. VIP is limited and it will sell out. Do not wait and then be sad about it later.  Last year it was over 250 people in one room with one mission. Having the absolute time of their lives. For scholars who needed every single one of them to show up. That is what this is. That is what YOU are a part of. 👉🏽 MoveInDayMafia.org/HBCUBingo Oh...one more thing. If you and your crew are already talking about coming, grab a table before Early Bird ends on June 19th (Juneteenth.) A General Admission table seats 8 people for $756, which means your per-person cost drops to $94.50. VIP tables seat 8 for $1,476. Either way, you are saving money AND you get to experience the whole night together. Companies, sororities, fraternities, friend groups, coworkers who actually like each other... this is your move. Get your table secured before they're gone. 👉🏽 MoveInDayMafia.org/HBCUBingo  Every month when our scholars submit their care package requests, they have to finish a sentence. They choose one: “I’m grateful that…” “I’m excited that…” “I’m looking forward to…” So we like to share some with you:   What I'm about to tell you... I did not tell many people last year until Bingo was over. 48 hours before THEE HBCU Bingo Xperience, I was in a near-fatal car accident. I only told the people who absolutely needed to know because I was not about to let anyone talk me out of showing up. We had worked too hard. Too many people were counting on that night. So I showed up. On a lot of pain meds. Smiling. Because the adrenaline from having walked away was still doing its job. The fallout didn't hit until the day after, when the adrenaline wore off. Wanna hear something wild? While they were trying to get me out of the car, a bystander started yelling that gospel music was still playing in my car. Pastor Mike Jr.'s song, "Proof" had come on the radio. And when I realized it, my brain locked in on one line. "You want to see a miracle? Look at me." That is why that was my Bingo entrance song. Now here is the wild part. Despite a blackout during our setup because someone hit a transformer and knocked the electricity out for the whole block... despite the AC breaking in the VIP room and us scrambling to move everyone out of a 90-degree room... despite nobody remembering to tell the guests they could eat so they were hungry... despite ALL of that... We still had 250 people having the time of their lives. We still got Dr. Brandi Rae Hicks saying she was stressed out of her mind and signing up again anyway. I was a walking miracle at that event. Literally. And the whole night felt like one too.
Here is what I need you to take with you. There is something you have been sitting on. A business. A conversation you keep putting off. A dream you told yourself you'd start when the timing was better. When you felt more ready. When the risk felt smaller. I need you to hear me when I say this: the conditions will never be perfect. Your version of the transformer blowing. Your version of the AC breaking. Your version of showing up anyway on fumes. Do it anyway. Because on the other side of YOUR scared is something you will not believe. And the people who need YOU to show up are already waiting. Do not wait until you are ready. Ready is a myth. Willing is what moves mountains. Now go move yours.  If you are new here... welcome to the Mafia Miracle Report. Every week I share what is happening inside Move-In Day Mafia, a nonprofit that supports foster care and unhoused college scholars at HBCUs with dorm room makeovers, care packages, move-in support, and community. I'm TeeJ, the founder and I'm glad you're here. Whelp! It's summertime and school is out for our scholars. Which means some are couch surfing. Some are working regular jobs, grinding through summer the best they can. That is real and I never want to gloss over it. But I also want you to see what else is happening. Because this week I sat down and looked at what some of our scholars are doing this summer and I couldn't be more proud. These are kids who lost parents. Kids who slept in cars and behind stores. Kids who aged out of the system with nothing and nobody. Kids who showed up to their first day of college with everything they owned in a trash bag. Look at what their summer looks like. A.D. — Clark Atlanta University is heading to Cornell for a summer research program and already presenting his research! How cool is that?! M.C. — Morehouse College just wrapped an internship with the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus. Now he is turning around and doing research at Morehouse School of Medicine. He is building his resume and I'm here for all of it. G.T. — Paul Quinn College just graduated and messed around and got hired full-time at Wells Fargo. And she is getting her first apartment. Adulthood looks good on her. W.N. — Delaware State University left for a Walt Disney World internship in food service. Maybe she's learning to make Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy's favorite dishes. D.J. — Spelman College landed an internship at Northwestern University in Chicago and I already know she's gonna kill it. W.A. — Savannah State University started her internship at Prevention Point Philadelphia, a nonprofit that serves people who are unhoused and struggling with addiction. She knows what hard looks like up close. And now she is walking into someone else's hard story, ready to help. A.J. — Fisk University had a couple of internship offers and decided on one all the way in San Jose, California. L.M. — Lane College got accepted into the Summer Research STEM Academy. Maaaaan are kids are super scholars. W.Z. — Prairie View A&M University has offers from both MD Anderson and UT Texas. At the time I'm writing this, she is still deciding. W.Z. has TWO options and is choosing between them. Read that again. B.N. — Prairie View A&M University is studying abroad. In Barbados. Yeah...you read that right...Barbados. H.K. — Florida A&M University is presenting her research at Florida State this summer. Getting paid to do it. Moving into her first apartment. And working on her driver's license before August. Three wins. At once. S.D. — Prairie View A&M University has plans to go to Honduras with a friend's family. She is also learning day trading and studying for her life and health insurance license. I don't know when she sleeps. D.F. — North Carolina A&T University is heading to Washington, D.C. with the National Foster Youth Institute. She will be shadowing a congressman. Working alongside delegates on advocacy for young people who have been in foster care. She is using her own story to change policy. Mafia Miracle Makers...YOU did that! You are the wings beneath our kids' wings. Every one of those names up there belongs to a kid who had every reason not to make it this far. Some lost parents to addiction. Some aged out of the system the day they turned 18 with nowhere to go. Some survived abuse that would have broken most adults. Some put themselves through high school while taking care of their younger siblings. And you stayed in their corner. Through care packages and move-in days and $25 Visa cards so they could get to a job interview. Through every little thing that added up to a scholar who now has somewhere to be this summer. This is where it went. And I'm grateful.  Every month when our scholars submit their care package requests, they have to finish a sentence. They choose one: “I’m grateful that…” “I’m excited that…” “I’m looking forward to…” So we like to share some with you:   I was listening to the Diary of a CEO podcast recently. The guest was James Clear, who wrote Atomic Habits. And one thing he said went off like a sonic boom in my spirit. "Consistency beats intensity every time." I've been sitting with that ever since. At 53, I am in a whole new phase of life. Menopause is real and it is an adjustment. My body has changed. The rules have changed. And one of the first things to go was my relationship with working out. In my 20s and 30s, I was an intense workout person. I mean intense. Miss a day and I would beat myself up about it. That was my thing. That was my identity. Hard, consistent, punishing effort. Except my body is telling me now that intensity is actually working against me. What served me then does not serve me now. And I had to learn to give myself grace around that. So when James said that, something unlocked. He talked about a marathon. You can sign up for one, train for months, cross that finish line, and feel incredible. That is intensity. But it is a moment, a BIG moment that deserves celebrating. But! It is the walk you take on a Tuesday morning when you do not feel like it. The workout you show up for in February when nobody is watching and nothing exciting is happening. The years of ordinary days that has nothing to do with any race or any event. No celebrating. A marathon does not necessarily translate to healthy. You need the daily walk. The consistent workout. The habit that keeps going whether there is something to train for or not. That is what actually changes your body. That is where the real benefit lives. Whatever you are building right now, please hear me. You do not have to be intense every single day. You just have to keep going. I spent years thinking that taking it easy meant I was falling behind. I know now it just means I'm still in the game. Remember...consistency beat intensity every time! Hug yourself for me and I'll see you next week. In the meantime, like, comment, subscribe and share. Plus, early bird tickets for this year's annual fundraiser, THEE HBCU BINGO XPERIENCE, are on sale. This Bougie Bingo goes down Saturday, July 11th live in Atlanta at the Morrow Center at 7pm. MoveInDayMafia.org/HBCUBingo |
AuthorTEEJ MERCER - TeeJ never set out to be an entrepreneur. She definitely didn’t plan to run a nonprofit. But after 25 years in Hollywood, editing and producing for major TV shows and movie studios, she saw a story that needed to be told. More importantly, she saw a PROBLEM that needed to be solved. Archives
August 2026
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