From Knees Knocking to 32 HBCUs. We Need Volunteers!

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