 See...What had happened was… Never in a million years did I imagine that I’d be standing on a stage, holding one of those iconic oversized checks like I was a recipient of a Publisher's Clearing House surprise. But last month, that’s exactly what happened... And it STILL doesn’t feel real. Lemme back up though. At the end of last year, I was honored with the My Joy Award at the HBCU Film Festival, which was already special because the event was held on the campus of my alma mater, THEE Howard University. Miracle Maker, just when I thought my heart couldn’t take another surprise… My friend of over 20 years, Sherri Shepherd, walked out to present me with the award. *Side note...I had just texted her 5 minutes before this moment. I had no idea that she was backstage.  I. Was. Floored.  In my acceptance speech, I shared something that has carried me through every twist, every leap, and every miracle: "The key to my success has been simple. I Obey and I move!" (Don’t worry. I’ll share the surprise and short speech with you under the Miracle Motivation section. I gave the 3 Keys To Walk In J.O.Y. I'm told it's a gamechanger.) But then… right after the speech, a woman approached me. She looked me in the eye and said: 👉🏽 "TeeJ, I’m obeying. God told me to give you $10,000 for Mafia." 🤯🤯🤯 Wait. What? I stood there completely speechless. (Which doesn’t happen often. 😂) So I did what any stunned human would do. I called over my girl Mina, who had traveled with me, and made her stand there and hear it herself, just to be sure I wasn’t hallucinating. Fast forward to last month... Mina and I made our way to Charlotte, North Carolina, to accept the FIRST installment of her promise: a $5,000 check at the Rich Auntie Brunch hosted by Rebrand Black. And let me tell you about the powerhouse behind it: Dr. Veronica Pearson. 📍 She’s a strategist. A builder. A connector. 📍 She leads with excellence and a heart for people. And she didn’t just hand me a check. She poured into me like only a real one can. I had the honor of dining with her in Atlanta last night while she was in town for a panel and Baybeeeee, the wisdom she dropped had me locked in barely able to eat.  Do yourself a favor and connect with her brilliance: 🔗 Dr. Veronica Pearson on LinkedIn And just like that Miracle Maker... the first $5,000 was in hand. But let me tell you something. This wasn't just about a check. It was a commitment. A stake in the ground. A real one saying, “I see the vision, and I’m in for the long haul.” Because after that first installment? She committed to being a monthly contributor. BAM! Exactly what we need. See, Move-In Day Mafia isn’t just about showing up once...we walk with these scholars for four years. And we need partners who get that. Who know that miracles aren’t just one-and-done moments, but a steady, unwavering presence that makes sure these kids have what they need every single month. And babyyyyy, the way things kept unfolding after this? Whew. Let’s just say… this wasn’t the only miracle on the move. M.C. Had a Dream. And the Mafia Said, "Not On Our Watch." We noticed that one of our Move-In Day Mafia scholars, a Morehouse College freshman, I'll call him M.C., did not turn in his monthly request form. So his Mafia mentor checked in. And what we learned? It made my blood BOIL. M.C. is at Da House on a partial scholarship, but due to a financial aid mess-up, he found out at the last minute that the money he was counting on for books? GONE. So he asked us something that hit me in my core. "Can I get cash instead of my necessities this month? I need to buy course materials." Wait. What?! This baby thought he had to choose between his monthly essentials and being able to do his coursework?! 🛑 NOT ON OUR WATCH. 🛑 No scholar should EVER have to choose between surviving and thriving. Let me tell you about M.C. 💡 His dad is incarcerated. 💡 He’s known homelessness firsthand. 💡 And despite ALL of that, when I asked him during his interview what his dream was, this young king didn’t miss a beat… 🎓 "I want to graduate as a Morehouse man." And I’ll be DARNED if we let a financial hiccup block that dream. So I did what I always do. I put the call out to the Mafia. And BOOM. Ivan answered. ✅ No hesitation. ✅ No back-and-forth. ✅ Just "I got it." But Ivan didn’t just buy the software. He sent a message to Misty, our Head of the Care Package Mafioso team.  "Let him know I’m rooting for him, and that we serve a God who will meet his needs before he even asks!" And This? This is Why We Do It. This isn’t just about buying things. It’s about showing up. It’s DaVona dropping off care packages and knowing she’s part of her scholar’s journey.  It’s Ivan stepping up without a second thought. It’s this entire community making sure these students know... "You are NOT alone." And we’re not done. Today, Friday, the 21st, is the last day for March’s Adopt A Scholar Week, and there are more scholars waiting. Prairie View, Clark Atlanta, Savannah State, and Benedict really need your love. 📍 MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar 💙 Pick a scholar. Click. Give. Show up. But before I go… Just know next week? I’ve got something BIG to show you. I wish I could tell you now, but if our scholars are reading this, I can’t let the surprise slip. Let’s just say… miracles are already in motion. See you next week for the reveal. 💙  At the top, I told y’all my secret to success was obeying and moving—and yes, that’s true... BUT what I actually shared during my acceptance speech at the HBCU Film Festival was something even deeper: The 3 Keys to Walking in J.O.Y. Because here’s the truth: I don’t just want success. I want JOY. The kind that doesn’t wait for perfect circumstances. The kind that carries me when the plan makes zero sense. The kind that shows up loud, proud, and backed by heaven. So when I took that stage and looked out at that room, I dropped this: J.O.Y. J – Jump to the end of your story. Decide now how you want your story to end. Speak it. See it. Move like it’s inevitable. Don’t wait for proof — walk like it's already written. O – Obey without the whole plan. If God gave you the green light, why you still sittin' at the stop sign waiting on details? MOVE. Y – Yank yourself out of your comfort zone… over and over again. Growth doesn’t happen in the cozy. Miracles don’t show up in the safe. If it’s scary, it’s probably divine. That’s how I got here. That’s how Mafia exists. I didn’t have a map. I didn’t have millions. I just had a YES. And listen, Miracle Maker—this ain’t just for me. 📌 This is your nudge to jump. 📌 This is your sign to obey. 📌 This is your push to yank yourself outta “stuck” and into “miraculous.” You ready to walk in J.O.Y.? Let’s go. See you next week. I'll share the surprise reveals and don't forget...you have until tonight, March 21st, to grab essentials for the scholars at MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar  I know we’ve already celebrated how HUGE last month’s Adopt A Scholar Week was. Y’all came through BIG TIME for scholars at 17 HBCUs! Seventeen campuses. Seventeen places where students felt seen. And if you missed the video of a LOUD surprise, Click Here to Go "Awwwwwwh" But let me tell you something...this is more than just care packages. These are Move-In Day Mafia H.U.G.S. This is H - HOPE This is U - Unconditional Love This is G - Generosity This is S - Stability 💡 And the best way to show you? Let you hear from the scholars themselves. On this month's scholars' care package forms, I asked them to share their wins, proud moments, fears, and challenges so you can see your direct impact!
This next one had me cracking up AND cheering at the same time.  That’s right, baby! A win is a win! ✅ Academic success? CHECK. ✅ Removing distractions? DOUBLE CHECK. We love a scholar who is winning in AND out of the classroom. And there are plenty more victories where that came from. I’ll be sharing them in future editions. But you know I gotta keep it 100 with you. Because while some scholars are celebrating, others are still struggling. And if we’re gonna wrap our arms around them the way we do, we need to talk about it.
These are the fears our scholars carry every single day. This is why we show up. Because for every win, there’s still a weight. For every “I passed my midterms,” there’s an “I’m scared for what happens after graduation.” For every “I finally made friends,” there’s an “I don’t know if I’ll ever have a real home.” And then… there’s this.  This one? This one broke me. Let me tell you about this student. One of the sweetest kids you’ll ever meet. He’s been on his own his entire life. Absent parents. No safety net. But he still made his way to college. And when we revealed his dorm room? He lit up. 💙 “This is a home,” he said. 💙 And his friend? “I’ve never seen him smile like this.” This is why Mafia isn’t just about dorm rooms. It’s about dignity. It’s about belonging. It’s about proving to these scholars that they are seen, valued, and more than enough. No student should ever have to question if they are enough. Not on our watch. That’s why we keep showing up. That’s why we keep wrapping these students in love. That’s why this work will never stop. And if you want to be part of that kind of miracle… here’s how. 🚨 March’s Adopt A Scholar Week is HEEEEEERE! What is Adopt A Scholar Week? How You Can Help💡 What It Is: Every month from the 14th to the 21st, our Mafia scholars who are HBCU students in need create Amazon wish lists with essentials they need to thrive in college. 💡 Why It Matters: These are students who have aged out of foster care, faced homelessness, or have no family support. Your support helps them succeed. 💡 How to Get Involved: 📍 1. Pick an HBCU at MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar 📍 2. Purchase an item or 20 directly from their wish list 📍 3. Deliver a miracle and change a scholar’s future Because when we show up, lives change and we send the scholars a strong message. You matter. You are worthy. You are enough.  THE $6 MILLION BANANAI typically don’t care what people spend their own money on… but whew, this one triggered a level of knee-jerk anger I had to pray through. What had happened was... A few days ago, I learned that Move-In Day Mafia’s budget for a fully thriving organization is $6 million a year. Cool. I know what we are working towards. But then... A few days later, I learned last November, someone paid $6.2 million for a piece of art. 🤯 Ask me, "What was the art?" Go ahead. Ask me. 🍌 A banana. 🩹 Duct-taped to a wall.  And then… THE BUYER ATE THE BANANA!  Poof. SIX...POINT...TWO...MILLION...DOLLARS. Gone. The same amount Mafia needs to do damage to the foster care to prison pipeline. This one got under my skin. Not because I’m mad at him, but because I know what Mafia could have done with that money. 💡 Hundreds of scholars housed, fed, and thriving. 💡 Generational cycles broken. 💡 Lives transformed. But then, I had to check myself. This wasn’t a loss. This was a lesson. There is PLENTY of money out there. People invest in what matters to them. My job is to learn how to navigate to the right people and help them see that Mafia is worth the investment. So now, my prayer isn’t for the money itself. It’s for the wisdom, strategy, and connections to find the ones who want to be part of real miracles. If someone can spend $6.2 million on ONE DARN BANANA, then surely there are people willing to invest in real impact. And that goes for YOU too. 💡 Whatever miracle you’re believing for, whatever vision you’re building, whatever mountain you’re climbing, don’t let “lack” be the thing that stops you. The resources? They already exist. The money? It’s out there. The right people? They’re waiting. Your job isn’t to question if it’s possible; it’s to keep moving until you connect with the ones who see the value in what you do. So keep pushing. Keep believing. Keep expecting miracles. What you need is already on its way. 📌 Hi, I'm TeeJ— a joy-bringing, people-collecting keynote speaker (aka ‘The Walking Exclamation Point’ and The World’s Greatest Hugger) who somehow runs Move-In Day Mafia in the spare time I don’t have. 😜 Oh, and my storytelling? It’s been watched by MILLIONS because 25 years in Hollywood taught me how to make people feel something. 😉 💡 Looking for a speaker who can bring energy, inspiration, and straight-up miracle-making faith to your stage? Let’s talk. [email protected] Because I don’t just talk about impact. I make it happen. If you liked this article, comment and share it please AFTER you slide over to MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar 😜  Juliet sees her decorated dorm room for the first time OOOOOOWEEEEEE Miracle Maker, I'm in complete disbelief. I need EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU to give yourself the BIGGEST HUG EVER. Because guess what? MOVE-IN DAY MAFIA HIT 200 LINKEDIN NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS IN OUR FIRST WEEK. TWO. HUNDRED. I knew God told me to start the newsletter, but I did not expect us to hit the ground running like this. Y’all SHOWED UP. And let me tell you something...this is just the beginning. So to every person who subscribed, shared, commented, or donated, I need you to hear me loud and clear: YOU are somebody’s answered prayer. Now, let’s keep the miracles coming. Because this week’s story? Whew. Buckle up Miracle Maker. I've been itching to tell you this all week.  Juliet is happy about her new mini-fridge from Best Buy MEET JULIET Juliet is the definition of resilient. Born in Nigeria, she has faced more loss before the age of 12 than most of us will in a lifetime. She lost her mother. She lost her father. She lost her little brother. She lost her childhood best friend. One after the other, her world kept shattering. And yet... ✅ She refused to stop dreaming. ✅ She refused to give up on her education. ✅ She refused to let her story end in grief. Instead, Miracle Maker, she fought her way to Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, my home state, where she is studying to be a doctor. And once she got there? She kept pushing. THEN CAME THE ASK One thing we teach our scholars is this: ASK FOR WHAT YOU NEED. Too often, these kids have been conditioned to believe that they are a burden. That they should just “be grateful for whatever they get.” That they do not have the right to want more. Not on our watch. So when Juliet's laptop started dying on her, she did exactly what we taught her to do. ➡️ She told her Mafia Mentor. ➡️ She explained the issue. ➡️ She asked if we could help. MY CRISIS OF FAITH As much as I wanted to snap my fingers and make it happen, I had a real dilemma. We have 44 scholars in our Mafia family right now. Every dollar we spend has to be strategic. Their basic needs: food, housing, school supplies have to come first. So Miracle Maker, I did not know if we had the budget to buy it. But if you know me, you also know this: ✔️ I am a woman of ridiculous faith. ✔️ I expect miracles. ✔️ I trust that God will show up. So I told Juliet’s Mafia Mentor: "Send me the exact laptop she is asking for. Let’s put it on the Adopt A Scholar list and see what happens." That laptop? It was nearly $700. I held my breath. THEN CAME THE MIRACLE A few days later, my phone buzzed. It was Misty, our Care Package Mafioso leader. Her text was short. "The laptop was bought!" Wait. Hold up. What?!? 💻 JULIET GOT THE EXACT LAPTOP SHE ASKED FOR. Not a cheaper version. Not a secondhand hand-me-down. Not some off-brand substitute. Miracle Maker, she got exactly what she asked for. Because an anonymous donor saw her worth. Our Fisk volunteer Care Package Mafiosos, Nicole and Lori, wrapped it up and delivered it like it was Christmas morning. And Juliet? Pure joy. Pure disbelief. Pure gratitude. 🎥 Watch her reaction below WHY THIS MOMENT MATTERS For their whole lives, these scholars have been told: "Take what you get and be grateful." "You do not need anything fancy." "You should be happy with whatever we give you." But for these four years, WE REFUSE TO LET THEM LIVE LIKE THAT. 💡 They deserve to dream big. 💡 They deserve to ask for what they need. 💡 They deserve to feel worthy of nice things. That is why Move-In Day Mafia exists. And that is why you...yes, YOU, Miracle Maker, are part of this miracle train. While writing this edition, I learned of another scholar at Lane College, Jackson TN, who needs a laptop as well. He showed up to school with only a backpack of clothes. If you can help make this miracle, please shoot an email to [email protected] and don't forget this month's #AdoptAScholar Week runs March 14-21, 2025! To be notified, scoot over to MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar In the meantime... Here's this week's...  Your Life is a Sentence. Make it Worth Finishing. Every single morning, before my feet hit the floor, I ask God one thing--make me S.A.P. – Somebody’s Answered Prayer. Not for recognition. Not for applause. But because there’s always someone praying for what I take for granted. One day, people will talk about you in the past tense. I don’t say that to be morbid. I say that because you get to decide what they say. Will they struggle to find the words, or will your life be so impactful that the sentence writes itself? I don’t want a eulogy. I want a room full of voices finishing the sentence, ‘I am thankful that God used TeeJ to…’ So today, ask yourself: what will people say about how you showed up? And if you don’t like the answer, change the story while you still can. See you next week for more miracle reports. Feel free to share! 📌Hi I'm TeeJ, a joy-bringing, people-collecting keynote speaker (aka ‘The Walking Exclamation Point' and The World’s Greatest Hugger who somehow runs Move-In Day Mafia in the spare time I don’t have. 😜 Oh, and my storytelling? It’s been watched by millions because 25 years in Hollywood taught me how to make people feel something. 😉  One of our Move-In Day Mafia babies is about to experience a miracle firsthand—she’s headed to KENYA for Spring Break!
And yes, these are my babies. I said what I said. 😜 Why does this make me wanna happy cry and do the MC Hammer dance at the same time? (Oops, I just dated myself. LOL.) Because just a few years ago, this young woman’s reality looked nothing like this dream. 😞 She spent her entire life in foster care. 😞 She battled housing insecurity for years. 😞 She had no safety net, no guarantees, and no family to fall back on. But here’s the miracle… Against all odds, she made it. Not only did she become one of just 2,000 scholars (out of 40,000 applicants!) to get into my alma mater, THEE Howard University, she’s now thriving, serving as an RA, excelling academically, and about to leave the country on a Spring Break Travel Abroad program. That’s not luck. That’s a miracle! But miracles don’t happen in isolation. This moment is possible because people like YOU made sure she didn’t have to struggle through college the same way she struggled through life. ✅ Because Move-In Day Mafia showed up, she didn’t have to start school in survival mode. ✅ Because donors stepped up, she had the stability to dream bigger than just “getting by.” ✅ Because a village wrapped their arms around her, she’s now packing her bags for an experience that will change her life forever. THIS is why Move-In Day Mafia exists. THIS is why we show up. THIS is why your support creates real miracles. Right now, another scholar is dreaming of their own miracle. YOU can make it happen. Give now at MoveInDayMafia.org/Donate. |
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. ArchivesCategories |
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