 Haaaaaaappy Friday. Oooooooweeee. Pull up a chair for this one because we have been building to this moment for weeks. We spent the last few weeks highlighting this year's grads in our Finish Line & Front Door series. To read our first four stories... A.J. from Fisk. A.O. from Delaware State. B.C. from Benedict College. G.T. from Paul Quinn. And now we are here. Meet our fifth. M.N. from Lane. But first...just in case you are new here. Move-In Day Mafia is the family that shows up for HBCU students who have aged out of foster care, are unhoused, or are navigating college under severe financial hardship. We don't just move them in. We stay. Four years. Monthly care packages. Because getting in is one thing. Staying, is where everything gets tested. We are family. Mafia Miracle Makers, as I like to call it. MEET M.N. Lane College. Jackson, Tennessee. Interdisciplinary Studies, English and Arts. From Memphis. M.N. had been in the foster care system since she was three years old. Three. Her parents struggled with mental health and criminal activities. There were stretches when M.N. and her siblings were left alone for months. No lights. No water. Neighbors would check in to make sure they were still breathing. Her brother is currently serving six life sentences. She was barely two years old when that happened. She and her sisters were split up. Moved around. Sometimes with family who were abusive. Sometimes with families dealing with their own housing instability. Then, when M.N. was 7, one foster family took all three sisters together. That held for a while until... M.N. came out as gay at 17, and they put her out. She went to live with friends. Couch-surfed from Memphis to Nashville to Arkansas. She was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and anxiety. She got to college and failed out freshman year. Took a year and a half off with nowhere to land. At one point, she slept behind an AutoZone. Outside...behind an Autozone. Can you even imagine? And then she decided...just that simple...decided: "I didn't want to be broke my whole life." That decision was made by a young girl...behind an AutoZone...who got tired of the story she was living and decided it was time to write a different one. I'm thankful for resilience. She packed up what she had. And got herself back to Lane College. But this time? Different resolve. Different maturity. Different M.N. She locked in. And...she...killed...the...game. The young lady who entered foster care at three graduated #4 in her class.  WITH INK ON HER HANDS & A NEEDLE IN HER POCKET Out of all of that chaos, all of that instability, all of those years of just trying to survive, something unexpected grew. Art. Art rose up and she ran with it. I'm jumping up and down now. Watch where her art took M.N. Five art galleries. M.N. participated in five of them while she was in school. A tattoo apprenticeship. Competitive. Thousands of applicants. Selected based on the strength of her portfolio alone. She won. Her first commissioned pieces. She sold them while she was still a student. The President's List. Seven consecutive semesters. Not once. Not twice. Seven straight semesters, she was on that list. President of three clubs at the same time. Robotics. Art club. Creative writing. Business owner. Tutor. Student worker. Peer mentor. All at once. All while holding her grades. And now she is being commissioned to paint murals.  She watched Ink Masters as a kid. She loved art, poetry, cartoons, color. She has a dream of making Afrocentric animation, of working for Studio Ghibli one day. And while she was in college, surviving and building, she took a tattoo needle and turned it into a career. She didn't wait until after graduation. She built the business inside the degree. That is discipline. That is vision. That is what happens when someone decides their history is not going to be their destination. And when a community of people shows up to make sure they have everything they need to prove it. YOU SHOULD BE PROUD TOO In the last four years of doing Mafia, the biggest thing I've noticed is how taking care of their basic needs enables these scholars' minds to explore, expand, and take flight. Every month, they submit their care package wishlists. And every month, I learn something about who they are by what they ask for. M.N. asked for a tattoo chair. Not a pillow. Not a candle. A tattoo chair. Because she wasn't just getting through school. She was building a business inside of it. When you bought that tattoo chair, you were investing in an entrepreneur who hadn't graduated yet. When you grabbed that stencil printer, you were stocking the studio of an artist who was already turning her art into a career before she ever walked across a stage. And then there were the Rice Krispies Treats Crispy Marshmallow Squares, the Gatorade, the Pringles, the Doritos, the Cheetos. Every. Single. Month. When you tossed those in the cart, you were sending her a little piece of joy on the days the grind got heavy. And then there was the month she ordered a whole stack of Manga and Anime books. You bought them. When you said yes to her wishlist, month after month, you were saying: we see all of you. That was YOU, Mafia Miracle Maker. You were not just sending supplies. You were sending proof that somebody believed she was worth investing in. Your investment plus her tenacity, her determination, her refusal to quit...walked across that graduation stage as #4 in her class. Ready to help us celebrate FIVE graduating seniors? This year we have five scholars crossing the stage. The most we have ever had in one year. We are covering their graduation regalia, fees, and gifts so they walk across that stage feeling every bit of what they earned. If you've got $1, $10, $100 or whatever feels right, it all goes toward that moment. 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/Graduates  Usually, this section shares screenshots from a variety of our scholars but in celebration of M.N., here are a few of hers.   Last week I told you I was writing to you from New York City. I went to be in the studio for the final taping of the Sherri {Shepherd} Show. To be front row for my friend, the same way she has been front row for me. You already know that story. What I did not tell you is that I came home with a souvenir nobody asked for. A bug. A full-on, knocked-me-flat, had-me-in-bed-since-Friday bug. And here is the thing. I have a lot going on right now. Applications are open. Move-In Season is coming. HBCU Bingo, our in-person fundraiser in July, is coming. So I fought it. I pushed through. I kept telling myself I didn't have time to rest. And my body said: yes, you do. I finally had to stop. Lie down. Let my body do what it was trying to do. And somewhere in the stillness, I remembered something I already knew. My healing comes in rest. Delaying rest was not making me stronger. It was making recovery harder and longer. I was working against myself. I also had to trust that God is not surprised by my timing. He knew the Sherri taping was last week. He knows Move-In Season is coming. He knows about HBCU Bingo coming up. He knows about all of it. So, my getting sick didn't just pop up on Him. Which means maybe the rest was part of the plan, too. Some days, doing your best looks like a full calendar and a packed schedule. And some days, doing your best looks like pulling the covers up and letting your body heal. Both are doing your best. If you are running on empty right now, pushing through something you probably should have sat down with a long time ago, I want to ask you something. What would happen if you trusted that the work will still be there after you rest? Because it will be. And you will do it better when you are whole. Rest is not quitting. Rest is preparation. See you next week, Mafia Miracle Maker. And don't forget... You can donate to our graduate fund through next week. 👉🏾MoveInDayMafia.org/Graduates Thank you for being the community that showed up for M.N. And for all five of them. Hug yourself for me. Like, comment, share and subscribe.  I MISCALCULATED. Haaaaaaappy Friday. I am writing to you from New York City today. Not Atlanta. Last Wednesday, I told you we would reveal the last scholar in The Finish Line & The Front Door series. I had it all planned out. But then I got on a plane. I needed to be in the studio for the last taping of the Sherri Show. You might know Sherri as an Emmy Award winner, a former co-host of The View, a New York Times bestselling author, and one of the most recognized faces in entertainment. Tyler Perry recently cast her in Straw, and she killed it. She is one of the funniest standup comics working today. And I get to call her "friend." A 25-year friend to be exact. And my girl is closing a chapter...her show is ending. I needed to be in this studio. Front row. The same way she has been front row for me more times than I can count. Some things you do not miss. You just show up. There is more about all of this later in the newsletter. Keep reading. Two Things. I'll have to write the last Finish Line & Front Door scholar next week. But today, I need to talk to you as a sister friend, not as the nonprofit founder of Move-In Day Mafia, which, by the way, is the family that shows up for HBCU students who have aged out of foster care, are unhoused, or are navigating college under severe financial hardship. We don't just move them in. We stay. Four years. Monthly care packages. Because getting in is one thing. Staying is where everything gets tested. We are family. Mafia Miracle Makers, as I like to call it. Now. Let's Celebrate. I have to shout about two of our scholars one more time. PRAIRIE VIEW, TEXAS. You remember L.I.? And remember a few weeks ago, several of you chipped in $1,200 so she could buy the materials she needed to run for SGA President at Prairie View A&M. Well. L.I. has been elected the 45th Student Government Association President of Prairie View A&M University for the 2026–2027 academic year. OMG OMG OMG SHE DID IT. And not only that. She is only the 5th woman ever to hold that title in the history of that institution. She entered foster care at 15. Her original plan wasn't college. It was a warehouse job. Get to work. Survive. She runs the Hill now. Congratulations, Madam President. We see you. And then there's W.N. Our Delaware State scholar who landed a Disney internship. Yeah. That Disney. Some of you moved fast when we asked about airline miles and hotel points to help her get there. Thank you. We got her flight covered, but now we are working on the hotel. She needs a hotel for a couple of days before her official housing check-in. May 16th is coming fast, so if you have hotel reward points, please email us at [email protected]. If you want to donate... → Chip in for W.N.'s Disney trip W.N. worked too hard to miss this over a few-night stay in a hotel. The Morning My Phone Blew Up Last week, my phone started going off. Instagram notifications. Text messages. Back to back to back. I was first terrified, thinking those nude photos of me dancing at Magic City to make money for Move-In Day Mafia had been leaked.😜 It was not that. What it WAS... was Sherri. Apparently, on that day's show, she had shared a story about one of our conversations in her opening monologue. And it had resonated with her audience in a way that had comments blowing up and strangers sending me the clip. See...what had happened was... The Call. Sherri called me early one morning. I am not a morning person at all. I had no business being awake at that hour. But for some reason, that morning, I was up. I answered and immediately heard her hyperventilating. My heart dropped. The only thing running through my mind was her son, Jeffrey. I started talking her down. Slow. Calm. Getting her to breathe. It took a few minutes before I could actually understand what she was saying. And when I finally did? It wasn't Jeffrey. For the first time in her entire career, Sherri Shepherd, the woman who has performed standup in front of thousands, co-hosted national television for years, and acted in major films, was completely freaking out about... An audition. A Broadway musical audition. First time ever. She was so nervous that she said she needed to sing. And if you know Sherri, her singing capabilities begin and end at karaoke. She told me how tired she was from the long hours she'd been putting in. How she'd practiced so much that her voice was gone and now her voice sounds like "fried chicken." Yeah, that's exactly what she said. I don't know what fried chicken sounds like at all. Do you? Having to think quickly before she completely lost it, I simply told her...well...how 'bout I just let HER tell you.   What I did not expect was what happened after. At the taping and again at the wrap party, once they realized I was there, members of Sherri's staff told me the same advice had helped them, too. People who had been in that studio every day. People who had watched Sherri build something for years and were now feeling the weight of it ending. They needed to run God's receipts, too. Maybe you do as well.  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:  Well Mafia Miracle Maker, that's a wrap for this week. I'll see you next week for the last Finish Line Scholar. I will not miscalculate this time. Until then, don't forget to donate to W.N.'s travel expenses or email [email protected] Don't have the budget right now? You can always smack the "share" button. That helps too. Hug yourself for me! TeeJ "The Godfather" Move-In Day Mafia  We're Baaaaaaaaack. Haaaaaaappy Friday. A few weeks ago, we started The Finish Line & The Front Door series. We have FIVE SENIORS GRADUATING this year in Move-In Day Mafia. The most we have ever had in a single year. Five young people who pushed through the hard days, the confusing days, the days that just did not make sense... and are now standing right at the edge of something new. At that very same time, we opened applications for our 2026-27 school year. Our fifth move-in season!!!!! So while one group is crossing the stage... Another group is standing at the door, wondering how they are going to survive in the college they worked so hard to get into. Both moments. At the same time. Last week, I paused the series because the good news from our scholars was coming in so fast that I just couldn't hold it. Scholars crossing fraternities and sororities. Headed to Tanzania. Headed to Capitol Hill. Passing licensing exams. Moving into first apartments. I needed you to know right then. But noooooow...we are back. And I want you to meet our fourth senior. G.T. But first, if you are new here... Move-In Day Mafia is the family that shows up for HBCU students who have aged out of foster care, are unhoused, or are navigating college under severe financial hardship. We don't just move them in. We stay. Four years. Monthly care packages. Because getting into school is one thing; staying is where everything gets tested. We are their family. Or "Mafia Miracle Makers" as I like to call it. G.T. CAME TO BUILD Four years ago, G.T. walked into Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas as a Psychology major. And in a few weeks, she will walk out with a degree. When she came into Mafia, she was surviving. Stretched thin. Carrying more than most young people should have to carry at that age. And she was the oldest sibling. When you are the oldest, and things are unstable at home, you do not get to just be young. You carry it. You watch. You hold things together for the people behind you. You decide early that your life is going to go a different direction. That is the girl who chose Paul Quinn College. A school that felt like something she hadn't had much of. Family. She said, "At other schools, you're just a number. You can go a whole day without anyone knowing your name. But at Paul Quinn? You run into the president on the street. You see the same faces every day. It's one big family." G.T. wasn't just looking for a degree. She was looking for a place to BUILD! WHAT SHE BUILT And in four years, G.T. killed the game! She landed an internship at Wells Fargo and knocked it out the park. Consistent. Capable. Determined. They didn't just appreciate her work. They wanted more of it. So they offered her a full-time position before she ever had a chance to submit a resume anywhere else. Plus! She is graduating with honors. G.T. did not just get through Paul Quinn. She excelled. She carried academic weight while carrying everything else, and she still crossed that finish line with honors attached to her name. Plus...Plus... She crossed into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Line process and all. That is not something you just sign up for. You earn it. Because that is just G.T. She does not do small. Plus...Plus...Plus... Somewhere in the middle of all of that, the full course load, the internship, the line process, she was also building a business of her own. Her entrepreneurial spirit is not a side hustle. It is part of who she is and where she is going. What's next? Taking a year to save, rest and then grad school for her Master's! And noooooow, she is excited to sign for her first apartment. Her own space. Her name on a lease. After years of instability, she is building a home. Her words..."I am just beyond grateful." Five words. And when you know where she started, those five words carry the weight of four years. You Get To Be Proud Too Every month, our scholars submit their care package wishlists. And every month, I learn something about who they are by what they ask for. Every month, G.T. asked for books. Books, books, and more books. Self-help. Personal growth. Mindset. Every single month, she was quietly building her library. Page by page, she was investing in herself. Soooooo when you grabbed one of those books off her wishlist... When you picked up her Secret deodorant so she could walk into that internship, into that classroom, into that chapter meeting, feeling ready... When you tossed her Gain detergent into your cart so her clothes were clean for the days that counted... When you added her favorite Frito Lay Flamin' Hot variety pack because sometimes a scholar just needs something that feels like a treat. Like a small joy. Like somebody thought about what she actually likes... That was you, Mafia Miracle Maker. You were not just sending snacks and supplies. You were sending her a message, month after month: We see you. We believe in you. Keep building. And she did. So yeah. This graduation? YOU deserve to be just as proud as I am. The Finish Line. And The Front Door. While G.T. is signing her apartment and starting her career at Wells Fargo, there is a young woman somewhere who just got accepted to an HBCU. She worked hard for that acceptance letter. And now she is wondering how she is going to survive in the school she worked so hard to get into. That is who we are opening the door for. If you know a student who needs us: 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/Apply And if you want to make sure our five seniors walk across that stage with everything they need, we are covering regalia, fees, and graduation gifts: 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/Graduates Both matter. Both are the Mafia. The finish line and the front door. At the same time.  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…” Usually, we show you words from various scholars, but this week, we're sharing G.T.'s voice directly. Because sometimes what a scholar says about herself tells you everything you need to know.   I have been watching HBO's The Pitt. If you haven't seen it yet, Noah Wyle plays Dr. Robby. An ER attending who has given everything to his hospital, his team, his patients. Season one, episode fourteen. A mass shooting comes through the doors. And it's pure chaos and hysteria. Tragic injuries. Death. The weight of it breaks him. He ends up alone in a room. The makeshift morgue. And he just... collapses. Total meltdown. But for me, that was totally ok. Totally understandable. And the person who finds him? Not a senior doctor. Not a colleague with thirty years in. A first-day intern named Whitaker. This is the same kid Dr. Robby had to pour into and give a pep talk to earlier in the season when the new doc lost it. And Whitaker gets Dr. Robby up off the floor the only way he can. He looks at him and says, "You have to. Because if you don't, we're done." I think about that scene a lot. Because sometimes, if you lead long enough, the weight of it finds you in a room somewhere. You have seen too much. You have carried too much. And the very thing that makes you good at what you do, the fact that you actually feel it, is the same thing that can bring you to your knees. But here is what I know...from real-life experience. When you've built a team that really sees you, sometimes the most powerful thing that can happen is one of them reaching down and saying: God's got you. Get up, because we need you. I've been in situations with building Mafia where my team had to reach down and get ME up, and remind me that God CALLED me to this journey. That is NOT weakness. That is what it looks like when you have built something real. When the people around you have grown enough to lead you back to yourself. Let them. We are all only human. If G.T.'s story resonated with you, like, comment, repost. In the meantime, don't forget you can support our graduates by contributing to the graduation fund at MoveInDayMafia.org/Graduates
Every dollar goes directly to celebrating them the way they deserve, and as always, your gift is tax-deductible. I'll see you next week to tell you about our final graduating scholar. Have a great weekend. To check out the previous three grads... A.J.'s story - From Sleeping In The Car To Cap & Gown From Dublin To Delaware… Paging Dr. A.O. B.C. Is About To Walk Across A Stage  Haaaaaaappy Friday! Okay. I need to tell you something before we get into it. We are in the middle of The Finish Line & The Front Door. For the past three weeks, we've been celebrating our graduating seniors. The ones who came in with nothing and are walking out with EVERYTHING! Today belongs to something I just...could not hold. But first...if you are new to Move-In Day Mafia...we are a "mob" of volunteers who provide decked out dorm rooms AND monthly care packages for FOUR years to HBCU students who have aged out of foster, are unhoused, or grapple with severe financial hardships. Now! Eevery month when they submit their care package wishlists, our scholars tell us their good news. But this month, we also asked them about their summer plans. And when those responses started coming in, I sat down to read them and I didn't get up for a minute. I was sitting with about 50 responses from 50 kids. Students who came into this program with nothing... no housing, no safety net, no one in their corner who had ever stayed. And what came back to me this April? Maaaaaaan. I couldn't wait. I just needed you to know right now. Because YOU did this. Every item you purchased off a wishlist, every gift card, every dollar you donated, every post you shared... it compounded. And these scholars? They've been putting in the work. So today, we're pausing The Finish Line & The Front Door series. Becauuuuuse oooooooweeeeee you gotta hear what my babies...YOUR babies have been up to. Wins...Wins...And More Wins! Clark Atlanta Scholar: Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. He was adopted out of foster care and then put out at 18; he's been on his own at Clark. And he still showed up and crossed Kappa. In HBCU culture, that is no joke. Savannah State Scholar: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She's been couch surfing since she was 10. Doesn't know her dad and mom's in jail. Crossing AKA has been her dream since 10th grade. Prairie View A&M Scholar: Study Abroad to Tanzania. She's nervous about the long plane ride and traveling with people she doesn't know yet. But she's going. Across the world. Because of YOU. North Carolina A&T Scholar: National Foster Youth Institute in D.C. She's been in foster care since she was 7. Now she's headed to Capitol Hill to shadow her congressman and fight for policy change. Her voice. On Capitol Hill! Florida A&M Scholar: First Year in Master's Program, Moving Into Her First Apartment. She entered Mafia as a senior at Bethune-Cookman. She'd been couch surfing since her freshman year. Now, she's at FAMU, wrapping up her first year in her Master's program AND moving into her first apartment. Texas Southern Scholar: Selected for Air Assault School. He's been cycling through foster care since he was 2. And now? Studying to be a pilot, headed to Air Assault School for the summer. Our baby is out here doing the most. In the best way. Prairie View A&M Scholar: Passed Her Life and Health Insurance License Exam. Mom killed in a car accident when she was 17. Dad kicked her out a month after the funeral. And now look at her. She already got her Life Insurance license. Now she's doubling up. And if that wasn't enough, she's also learning day trading on the side. I can't make this up. Paul Quinn Scholar: Landed a Full-Time Job With Wells Fargo. At her internship. They hired her. She's excited, a little scared, and ready for her new chapter. That's how we like it. Benedict College Scholar: Crossed Delta Sigma Theta. She entered foster care at age 6 with domestic violence and neglect. She's overcome academic challenges, aged out of the system, and made Dean's List all four years. Now she crossed Delta and is graduating with honors. Line process and all. Lane College Scholar: Graduating 4th in Her Class. FOURTH. IN. HER. CLASS. A girl who used to sleep behind an Autozone, not knowing where her next meal was coming from. And This Is Why We Don't Stop Every single one of these wins happened because of consistency. Because we showed up. All year long. Not just during the school year. Not with a "Great year, see you in the fall." All year. Because when May rolls around, summer doesn't pause for our scholars. It gets harder. That's why we don't disappear. Adopt A Scholar Week is happening RIGHT NOW, through April 21st. Usually, the wishlists are full of items selected by the scholar along with 2-$25 Visa gift cards for perishables and incidentals. But right now? With the 2025-26 school year coming to an end, our students are headed out on various adventures and some will be couch surfing...heading into uncertainty and what they need is flexibility. Therefore, for the summer months, we send some students all gift cards so they can take care of their needs without worrying about Amazon deliveries. So whether you have a budget for a $3 box of snacks or $300 in multiple gift cards, a scholar needs you. 👉🏾 Head to MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar and look around. You'll see both options waiting for you. And if shopping isn't your thing right now, you can always donate directly at MoveInDayMafia.org/Donate and we'll make sure it lands where it's needed most. We've got until April 21st.  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:   Last Sunday would have been my daughter, Dot's, 20th birthday. When she died, naturally, it was hard. And for a long time, I thought joy died with her. I walked through what I coined "My Journey To G.R.I.E.V.E." G — Give yourself permission to go to pieces. R — Reassess your new reality, because there is now a huge void in your life. I — Integrate time in your day to have a pity party and feel every emotion. Heal. E — Express your feelings to a friend, counselor, a pastor, or in a journal. Do NOT hold it in. V — Sometimes you oscillate between being okay one minute and in tears the next. This is normal. It can last for years. E — Exist. Sometimes that's all you can do. And that's alright. But here's what I'm telling you today, sitting on the other side of it: I walked THROUGH the grief. Not around it. Not past it. Through it. And little by little, not all at once, but little by little, it got better. Some days I still can't believe she's gone. But last Sunday, when I was reading through these 50 scholar responses, when I saw a scholar crossing Kappa, a scholar running for office, a scholar heading to D.C. to fight for foster youth policy, a scholar graduating fourth in her class, I cried. Not because of the hole that Dot left. Because of the 50 kids standing in that hole and filling it with their own light. That's what I couldn't have predicted about grief. That it doesn't end your capacity for joy. It expands it. So I want to ask you something today. What grief are you walking through? What loss, what disappointment, what version of yourself or your future have you had to let go of? Because here's the thing: You don't have to wait until you're "over it" to start reaching toward joy again. You don't have to wait for the grief to be neat or small or manageable. You can walk through both at the same time. The sadness and the celebration. The missing and the gratitude. The loss and the light. That's what our babies are teaching me every single day. That scared and proud can live in the same sentence. That anxiety and hope can show up in the same survey response. That you can be nervous about your future and still be ready for it. So I want to invite you into that same both/and space. Walk through whatever grief you're carrying. But don't stop reaching. Don't stop giving. Don't stop believing that on the other side of loss, there is light. The world needs what happens when you do. Have a great weekend, Mafia Miracle Maker! If this made you think about something... or someone... go ahead and share it. You never know who might need that reminder today. And if you're not already part of the Mafia Miracle Makers family, make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss what's coming next. I'll see you next week. Hug yourself for me! P.S. We have until April 21st. If you haven't checked the wishlists yet, now is the time. Every item you grab says something loud and clear to our scholars: You're not doing summer alone. 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar  And I need you to understand what that actually means before I tell you she made the Dean's List. Because if I lead with the honor roll, you might nod and keep scrolling. And B.C.'s story? It is not a scroll-past story. So let me back up. This is Week 3 of a series we're calling The Finish Line & The Front Door. At Move-In Day Mafia, we move in and take care of HBCU students who have aged out of foster care, are unhoused or struggle with financial hardships. Annnnnnd this spring... We have FIVE seniors graduating! The most we've ever had. Five young people who pushed through the hard days, the confusing days, the "I genuinely don't know how I'm going to make this work" days and are now standing right there at the finish line. And at the exact same time, applications just opened for our 2026-27 school year. Our fifth move-in season. So while one group is about to walk across a stage, another group is standing at the door ready to begin their new journey. That's what this series is about. Both moments. At the same time. Because if you really want to understand what Move-In Day Mafia is, you have to see both. She Was Six Years Old. B.C. entered the foster care system at six years old. Domestic violence. Family chaos. Domestic violence. Family chaos. Neglect so deep that B.C. couldn't tie her own shoes. Could not spell. The neglect hadn't just stolen her stability. It had stolen her start. She was already behind before she ever had a fair shot at the race. And the system was about to keep right on moving without her. She was days away from becoming a ward of the state. Another child absorbed by circumstances she didn't create and could not control but thankfully... Her grandparents stepped in. They were elderly. They were not equipped with a lot of resources. But they showed up. And B.C. began to thrive. Her beginning didn't stop her. She made the Dean's List at Benedict College. Not one semester. Not one year. All ...four...years! Every. Single. Semester. The little girl who couldn't tie her shoes. Who couldn't spell. Who the system had already started processing as a statistic. She walked into Benedict College and stayed on the Dean's List the entire time she was there. That is not something you do by accident. That doesn't happen because things were easy. That happens because somewhere deep in B.C., something decided she was not going to be what happened to her. And she proved it over and over and over again. But that's just the Dean's List part. While she was keeping that GPA locked, she was also building somewhere else. Spring 2024, B.C. crossed into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Not just a member sitting on the sidelines. She's Treasurer of her chapter and Recording Secretary for the entire National Pan-Hellenic Council. That's not something you stumble into. That's` something you earn when people see that you show up and follow through. And her senior year? She didn't just stay on the Dean's List. She made the President's List. That's a whole other level. She's excelling. And she's not done yet! Graduate school is next. MBA with a concentration in healthcare administration. She's going to work in public health. She's going to do it with the same focus that got her from "I can't tie my shoes" to the President's List. Small Things Have Big Impact This is your moment too. When you grabbed Vaseline lotion and Dove lotion so her skin could breathe after four years of stress and late nights… When you sent Quaker Instant Oatmeal so she had something quick on mornings when studying came before breakfast… When you made sure she had those fruit juices she loves...little tastes of sweetness on the days that felt too hard… And when you said yes to that Chefman 6-quart air fryer when she asked for something special. Not a need. A want. Because you believed she'd deserved it. When you grabbed what was on her list… When you made sure she had what she needed to focus on school instead of survival… You were part of this. Not symbolically. Not in a "every little bit helps" kind of way. In a real, tangible, "she had one less thing to worry about so she could keep her eyes on that Dean's List" kind of way. Honor roll doesn't happen in a vacuum. It happens when a student can actually focus. When the basics are handled. When somebody, even somebody she's never met, sends a care package that says without saying it: We see you. You matter. Keep going. That was you. So yes. This graduation belongs to B.C. And you and I get to be proud of it too.   Usually, we show you words from various scholars, but this week, we're sharing B.C.'s voice directly. Because sometimes what a scholar says about herself tells you everything you need to know.  B.C. Is Finishing… Somebody Else Is Just Starting. While B.C. is walking toward the finish line, applications are open right now for our next class. Somewhere, a student is sitting in their own version of what B.C. survived. Maybe they aged out of foster care. Maybe they're unhoused. Maybe they're the oldest sibling holding a weight no teenager should be holding. And they are wondering how they are gonna survive in the college they worked so hard to get into. Well, we're opening the door. Applications for the 2026-27 move-in season are now open. If you know of a scholar we can help, have them head over to 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/Apply Your support this move-in season makes sure the next class doesn't have to wonder if they belong. This is how Mafia works. We hold both moments. We celebrate the finish line. And we stand at the front door, ready for whoever's coming next. Help us celebrate five graduating seniors: 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/Graduates Be part of welcoming the next class: 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/Apply  Give yourself the freedom to evolve. I didn't want to be nobody's leader. I was a TV editor and producer in Hollywood for nearly 30 years. I loved that work. I really did. I still miss it sometimes. That was my lane. Supporting leaders. Creating behind the scenes. I was good at it and I knew my place in that world. I loved being a team player. Running a nonprofit? Leading a movement? Being the one the buck stops with? That was never on my radar. I didn't want that life. But then I met a girl who'd aged out of foster care. Just dropped off at college with nothing. And something shifted in me. What if I said yes to becoming something I never planned to be...scared and all? What if I gave myself permission to evolve beyond the version of myself I'd already decided I was? Here's what I know now: God knows His kids. He knew what would make my heart happy. While I loved my career in Hollywood and miss it every once in a while, I couldn't imagine NOT being the Godfather of Move-In Day Mafia. Today, 109 students across 28 HBCUs are thankful that I got over my fears and insecurities...just for them. I mean...FIVE of my babies are graduating! Your next chapter is waiting too. It might look nothing like what you planned. It might scare you. You might have to grieve the version of yourself you thought you'd be. But what would happen if you stopped apologizing for who you used to be and started celebrating who you're becoming? Give yourself that freedom. The world needs what happens when you do. Hug yourself for me. If this made you think about something... or someone... go ahead and share it. You never know who might need that reminder today. And if you're not already part of the Mafia Miracle Makers family, make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss what's coming next. I'll see you next week. And before you go... don't forget, we've got five seniors getting ready to walk across that stage. If you want to be part of that moment... 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/Graduates Hug yourself for me! TeeJ "The Godfather" Founder, Move-In Day Mafia P.S. If you missed A.O.'s story from last week, you can read it HERE.  The Finish Line & The Front Door: Week 2 Continuing our series spotlighting the incredible dopeness of our graduating seniors, I am excited to tell you about one of our future doctors. But first...if you're new to Mafia Miracles Report... Move-In Day Mafia is a family that supports HBCU students who have aged out of foster care, are unhoused, or are navigating severe financial hardship. We don’t just move them in… we stay with them for four years, covering the monthly essentials most people never think about so they can focus on becoming who they’re called to be. Around here, we call that H.U.G.S. — Hope, Understanding, Generosity, and Stability. And this series? The Finish Line & The Front Door is about holding two truths at the same time. During this season, some of our babies are crossing the stage. And at the very same time… our applications are now open, and our potential new babies are standing at the door of college with anxiety about all that is next. Last week, I told you about A.J. who is graduating from Fisk. This week? It's A.O. from Delaware State. A.O. was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and made her way to the U.S. just a few years ago, under circumstances that didn’t exactly come with stability or a safety net. She didn’t arrive with everything lined up. She arrived, trying to figure it out. New country. New systems. New expectations. And no real blueprint for how to navigate any of it. She landed in Delaware, building a life in real time… learning how to take care of herself while also trying to stay on track in school. And that’s the part people don’t always see. Because by the time you meet her now, she looks like she’s always had it together. Senior year at Delaware State. Studying for the MCAT. Pediatrician on deck. Yaaaaaas. Because for most people, that right there would already be enough to celebrate. But baaaaaaaaby… we’re not done. Because she’s doing ALL of this while being unhoused. You read that right. UNHOUSED. Now to be clear, thankfully, Delaware State has policies in place that allow students in her situation to remain on campus during breaks, which has made a real difference. But even with that… That’s not the same as having a true home base. That’s not the same as knowing you have a permanent space to land, to exhale, to fully rest without question. There’s still a level of uncertainty there. Still a level of “how am I going to keep this going?” And she’s carrying all of that while balancing classes, leadership, and studying for the MCAT. Yet, instead of slowing down… instead of saying “let me wait until things get easier”… A.O. said, “Nope… we're moving anyway.” And THAT is what made me lean all the way in. Because she’s not moving like someone hoping this works out. She’s moving like it already did. And while she’s carrying all of that… Maaaaaaan, you gotta see what she's been up to...straight beast mode: • Maintaining a 3.8 GPA as a Biological Science major (health professions) with a minor in chemistry • Holding it DOWN on the Dean’s List for three years and now the Presidential List • Inducted into Delaware State’s Honors Program • Serving as Vice President and Event Manager for the African Student Association • Creating and leading Hive Wars 2026, a campus-wide experience that brought competition, community, and a canned food drive together • Building her own clothing brand, Chosen Generation, rooted in faith and identity • Working in a campus lab and herbarium to deepen her research skills So yeah...A.O. is no joke… I mean, she has been putting in the WORK to get there. Not halfway. Not sometimes. CONSISTENTLY. SO YEAH...YOU SHOULD BE PROUD TOO! When you bought those Capri Suns and those big boxes of Welch’s fruit snacks, you were making sure she had something to grab in between long study sessions and even longer days. When you sent those Scott paper towels and toilet paper, you handled the kind of everyday needs that don’t get talked about, but make all the difference when you’re trying to hold life together. When I saw those BC powders on one of her monthly lists, I’m not even gonna lie… I laughed. I didn’t even know they still made BC. And how does she even know about those?! And when you saw that pink stethoscope, those pink scrubs, and that graduation dress she asked for…  You sowed into her and let her know she was not alone. And whether you look at this way or not… YOU have been part of her getting to this moment, Mafia Miracle Maker. That’s how A.O. made it to the finish line. So yeah… You should be proud, too. Now, as a family, we’ve got one more step We’ve got FIVE seniors getting ready to walk, and we’re covering everything (graduation fees, regalia, gifts) they need for that moment. If you want to be part of that… 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/Graduates Real Quick… I Need To Correct Something Last week, I told you we had six seniors graduating this spring. That was on me. One of our babies is in a Master’s program and still has more coursework to finish, so her walk is coming in the Fall. And you already know… We’re going to walk all the way through with her. So this spring, we’re celebrating FIVE. And FIVE is still a big deal.  Usually, this section shares screenshots from a variety of our scholars but in celebration of A.O., here are a few of hers.   I’ve been sitting with something lately. 2026 feels different. This is our 5th Move-In Season, and for a long time, I was just trying to get through the season in front of me. Make sure the rooms were done. Make sure our babies had what they needed. Just… make it. But now? We know this works. Lives have been changed. Students are still in school, still standing, still becoming. And once you know that, you can’t think the same anymore. I’ve found myself asking a different question: Not just, “How do we do this again?” But, “How do we make sure this keeps going?” Not just while I’m here… But beyond me. Because this work is too important to be dependent on one person. And if I’m honest, that realization stretched me. It made me look at what I need to grow into, what I need to let go of, and what I need to trust someone else to carry. Because growth isn’t always about doing more. Sometimes it’s about building something that can keep going without you. And I think that’s where a lot of us are. There comes a point where it stops being about getting through the moment… And starts being about what lasts. So if things feel different right now… They probably are. And that’s not a bad thing. It might just mean what you’re building is meant to last. If this made you think about something… or someone… go ahead and share it. You never know who might need that reminder today. And if you’re not already part of the Mafia Miracle Makers family, make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss what’s coming next. I’ll see you next week. And before you go… don’t forget, we’ve got five seniors getting ready to walk across that stage. If you want to be part of that moment… 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/Graduates Hug yourself for me! P.S. If you missed A.J.'s story from last week, you can read it here.  The Finish Line & The Front Door: A.J. At Fisk Two things are happening at the same time This week, we’re starting something special. For the next six weeks, I’m taking you inside two moments happening at the exact same time. The finish line… And the front door. We have FIVE SENIORS GRADUATING this year. The most we’ve ever had. Five young people who pushed through the hard days, the confusing days, the “I don’t know how this is going to work” days… and now they are standing at the finish line. At the very same time... We just opened applications for our 2026-27 school year. Not just any move-in season...OUR FIFTH!!!!! So while one group is preparing to walk across the stage… Another group is standing at the door trying to figure out if they can even walk in. And if you really want to understand Move-In Day Mafia… You have to see both. We Don't Just Move Them In If you’re new here… Move-In Day Mafia is the family that shows up for students at HBCUs who have aged out of foster care, are unhoused, or are navigating college without a safety net. We don’t just move them in. We stay. Four years. Monthly care packages. Because getting into school is one thing. Staying is where everything gets tested. We are family...or "Mafia Miracle Makers" as I like to call it. Meet A.J. If you are on our email list, on Wednesday, I introduced you to A.J. But I want to sit in his story a little longer. A.J. is graduating from Fisk University in May! Before college, he and his siblings were living in a car while their mom was fighting cancer. He was trying to stay focused in school while carrying a level of responsibility that most adults would struggle under. That kind of pressure could have easily rewritten his story. But it didn’t. Because even in that season… he kept moving. One step at a time. One decision at a time. One “don’t give up” at a time. And eventually… That persistent resilience opened a door. He made his way across the country to Fisk University on a basketball scholarship. From the outside, it looks like that should have been the turning point. But life doesn’t just flip like that. A.J. is the oldest. That didn’t change just because he got to campus. Even while balancing school and basketball, his mind never left home. When NIL money started coming in, he didn’t use it to make life easier for himself. He sent money back to his family, because that’s what he felt called to do. That detail right there tells you exactly who A.J. is His struggle didn't magically disappear. But he kept showing up anyway. And let me tell you something else I love about his story… Somewhere in the middle of all of this, A.J. didn’t just survive college. He stepped fully into it. And when I say that… I don’t just mean he made it through. I mean he made history. He became the first Black man from an HBCU to win the Perry Wallace Courage Award and got flown out to Arizona for the Final Four. His city, Long Beach, showed up and honored him like family. And on top of all of that. He’s graduating in four years… almost debt-free. That alone would be enough to celebrate. But A.J. didn’t stop there. One of his proudest accomplishments? Crossing into Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. And baby… if you know, you KNOW. That’s not just letters. That’s legacy, discipline, and a whole lot of earned pride. And now, in just a few weeks, Persistance and Resilence walks across that graduation stage. Not wondering what’s next. CHOOSING what’s next. Get this...He has a job opportunity with the fire department in Nashville. He has opportunities to continue playing basketball. He has options. And when your life has started in survival mode, the ability to CHOOSE hits different. What I Don't Want You To Miss This is your moment too. When you bought that Palmer's Coco Butter… When you grabbed that Tide detergent… When you tossed his fave cereal, Honey Smacks, into your cart... When you snatched up that Wave brush. You probably thought you were just checking out. But you weren’t. You were supporting A.J.’s pursuit of the finish line. You were helping remove distractions… creating stability… making sure he could stay focused on what mattered. And all those moments? They added up. So yes… This graduation? You, Mafia Miracle Maker, deserve to be just as proud as I am. While He's Finishing...Someone Else Is Just Starting While A.J. is walking toward the finish line… Applications are open right now for our next class. Our fifth Move-In Season! Somewhere, a student is sitting in their own version of that “car moment.” Trying to figure out if college is even possible. Trying to figure out if they’re about to do this alone. This is where the front door opens. If you know a scholar who has aged out of foster care, is unhoused, or is trying to navigate college without support, please have them apply. 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/Apply  Typically, this section shows you screenshots from several of our students' forms, sharing their good news. But in honor of A.J.'s graduation, we are showing just his.    Stand in line for somebody else On Wednesday, I attended The State of HBCUs Executive Summit hosted by the Student Freedom Initiative. During the Q&A portion, I had the chance to introduce myself to a panel of HBCU presidents, and I won’t lie… seeing heads nod when I said “Move-In Day Mafia” felt gooooood. It felt like the work was being seen. But that’s not what stayed with me. Nah. What stayed with me was a lone student. You see, after I told the room about the work of Mafia. When the event ended, I was wonderfully bombarded by audience members and the staff of the presidents who wanted to get involved. Standing patiently as I answered questions and connected, this student stood patiently waiting to tell me... Not about herself. About her friend. Her. Friend! She told me her friend is in foster care and just got accepted into Morris Brown College, and she’s scared about not having everything she needs. She stood there… patient… intentional… advocating for someone else’s future. And I couldn’t stop smiling. Because that’s when you know something deeper is happening. When support doesn’t just meet a need… It multiplies. It teaches people to look beyond themselves. To care differently. To move differently. To speak up when someone else doesn’t have the words or the room. And it made me sit with a simple question: What would change if more of us chose to stand in line for somebody else? Before I Go Before we close out this week… We’ve got one more step for our seniors. We created a fund to cover all six of their graduation fees, regalia, and gifts. And now it’s time to celebrate them… properly. Fisk University - 05/03/26 Lane College - 04/25/26 Delaware State University 05/15/26 Paul Quinn College - 05/02/26 Benedict College - 05/02/26 Prairie View A&M - 05/09/26 The total is $2,893. 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/Graduates Every dollar goes directly to celebrating them the way they deserve, and as always, your gift is tax-deductible. See you next week to tell you about another graduating scholar!  Soooooo… God showed off on me this past weekend. And I’m still sitting here like, “Sir… you really did all that… for ME??” Let me tell you what happened. But first... If you’re new here, welcome to the family. I'm TeeJ, the founder of Move-In Day Mafia. Mafia is what happens when a group of people decides that HBCU students who’ve experienced foster care, housing instability, or major life disruption should not have to “figure it out” alone. We deck out their dorm rooms, send monthly care packages for four years, and surround them with H.U.G.S. Hope, Understanding, Generosity, Stability. And the people who make that happen? Mafia Miracle Makers. Not donors. Family. Now listen… This week's edition is not necessarily spot-on Mafia, but it's related. So stay with me. Because before I was anybody’s founder… before any of this existed… I was a daughter, a sister, a favorite cousin, and a BIG SISTER. And baaaaaabyyyy… I take that job VERY seriously. 😜 For about three years now, I have been watching this baseball league grow called Savannah Bananas. Think Harlem Globetrotters, but for baseball. And when I tell you I was hooked… not even because of baseball… because of the JOY. The owner, the energy, the experience… it just felt like something I could learn from as we build Mafia. So when they announced tickets for the Atlanta game, I entered the lottery… didn’t get picked. And I’m not gonna lie… I was BUMMED. Like real life, sitting there pouting, “I'm a grown woman” bummed. 😒 I told my little brother Bud about it because not only did he go to Grambling on a baseball scholarship, but he’s also now an umpire. We talked about the game, the business, all of it… and then life moved on. Or so I thought. And then… AND THEEEEN… A few months later...This dude… this dude who is 12 years my junior… whom I blazed a trail through our mama’s birth canal… sends me a text: “Guess who just got called up to umpire the New Orleans Banana Ball game?” Mafia Miracle Maker… when I tell you I screamed??? Not a cute scream. Not a ladylike “oh wow.” I mean a full-on “THE NEIGHBORS ARE GONNA CALL THE POLICE” scream. 🤣 Because wait… not only is this the SAME game I was sad about not seeing… now 👏🏾 my👏🏾 little👏🏾 brother👏🏾 is👏🏾 ON👏🏾 THE👏🏾 FIELD??? In the Superdome??? Like… the New Orleans Saints field??? In front of THOUSANDS of people??? 83,000 people to be exact! So of course I said what any loving, supportive, slightly selfish big sister would say: “I don’t care about mama… I don’t care about daddy… YOU BETTA FIGURE OUT HOW I GET IN THAT BUILDING.” And I meant it. 😌 Don't worry. My parents were okay cuz they know how I feel about my knuckle-head little brother and by "little," I mean, he is 41 and 6'4". But guess what… Bud figured it out! Mama didn’t get a ticket. Sorry… not sorry Ma. So boom. I fly to Louisiana. Excited. Can’t sleep. Acting like I’m the one umpiring. And let me tell you… I did NOT come to play. I made a whole shirt for the occasion. Mine said: “Proud Sister of One of the Umpires.” Because if I was pulling up… oh I was making it known.  I get to the stadium, and as I'm looking for my seat, I look down… and there he is. Walking the field. And the tears just start falling. Because in that moment, I wasn’t looking at “Marvin 'Bud' Mercer the umpire.” I was looking at my baby brother. The one I used to wake up for school, get dressed, take to school, pick up… because our mama was working long hours making sure we had what we needed. That little boy… now on THAT field. And then… because God clearly wasn’t done showing out… I realize something. I didn’t even pay for my ticket. His friend Reggie gave me a comp. Cool. Grateful. Thanks Reggie! But THEN… AND THEEEEEEEWN… I look at my seat. Thiiiiiiiird row. But not just any third row. Right field. Y’all… RIGHT. WHERE. BUD. WAS.  I didn’t pick it. I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t even care where I was sitting. I just wanted to be in the building. And God said, “No… I want you to SEE this.” So I sat there with an unobstructed view, watching them introduce him FIRST, watching him dance on that field, losing my ENTIRE mind like somebody's auntie who doesn’t know how to act. 🤣 And then I remembered… Mama, aka Ms. Thang Thang, didn’t have a ticket. So I video-called her. And y’all… she got to watch her son wave at his mama from the field in front of tens of thousands of people. And by the end of the game? Everybody within at least a 10-seat radius knew: “That’s my little brother out there.” I had told them. More than once. Okay… probably about 17 times. 🤣  While sitting there… crying, screaming, acting a fool… but also real quiet inside at the same time because I realized something. I wasn’t just proud because that’s my baby brother. I was proud because, being 12 years older, I had a hand in raising him. I had a front row seat to his becoming. I poured into that boy. I covered him. I snuck and ate his food so he could finally get down to play after Mama told him he had to finish his dinner. So watching him stand on that field... heck yeah, I was in my feelings. And it hit me… that’s EXACTLY how I feel right now about our babies. Because this year, we’ve got SIX Mafia scholars graduating. SIX. And no… I didn’t raise them from childhood… but because of Mafia Miracle Makers, like you, we’ve walked with them. We’ve shown up. We’ve covered them. We’ve made sure they didn’t have to “figure it out” alone. So when they cross that stage… oh I already know… I’m gonna be just as emotional, just as proud. Because tangible love showed up through YOU… and now we get to watch it graduate. So no… this story ain’t about a Mafia scholar this week. But it IS about the heart behind everything we do. If you'd like to see the highlight reel I did for him, here you go.  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.   JOY IS NOT A DISTRACTION Building Mafia is overwhelming and scary at times. If I'm honest, it's a lot. So I could have easily told myself, “You don’t have time for this.” There’s always something to do. Always another need. Always another student to support. But this weekend reminded me of something I don’t ever want to forget. Joy is not a distraction from the work. It’s fuel for it. Those moments where you laugh too hard, cry a little, act a fool in public… Those are the moments that refill you. That remind you why your heart is wired the way it is. So don’t skip them. Don’t rush past them. Don’t treat them like extras. They’re not. They're necessary. Lastly, Adopt-A-Scholar Week wraps up tomorrow. Here's where we are.  If you’ve got $3, there are items waiting right now at that level. And if you’re like me and hate shopping, you can always donate and let us handle the deets." 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar 👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/Donate See you next week. Don't forget to LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE. Until then...Hug yourself for me.  In last week's edition, we celebrated something that made me half-scream in my coworking space… In 2025, we had nearly $90,000 in wishlist essentials and $62,906 worth of items bought by you, our Mafia Miracle Makers! And just when I thought my heart couldn’t get any fuller… another story landed in my inbox. But first... If you're new here, Move-In Day Mafia is a family of volunteers and donors who come together to support HBCU students who have experienced foster care, housing instability, or other major life disruptions. We show up with decked-out dorm rooms and monthly care packages so our scholars can focus on school and make it all the way to graduation. We call our family Mafia Miracle Makers. Because that’s exactly what you do. You set miracles in motion. Soooooo earlier this week, I received a request from one of our Prairie View A&M scholars. Inside, it had a life update that I literally said out loud… Wait. Hold up. You've done WHAT? Apparently, one of our Mafia babies has been out here building a résumé that would make grown folks tired. Listen to this. L.I. is a senior at Prairie View, majoring in Mass Communications with a minor in Political Science. She’s been on the Dean’s Honor List since 2023. Now that’s impressive. Especially when you hear her backstory. But that’s not the part that had me leaning back in my chair. Because when we first met L.I., college wasn’t even part of the plan. At 15 years old she entered the foster care system. Her mother was no longer able to care for her, so when CPS removed her little sister, L.I. made a decision that still gives me chills. She put herself into the system hoping it would help her stay connected to her sister. Read that again. She…put…herself…in…the…system. Just to try to stay close to her little sister. Unfortunately, they were placed separately. When we met L.I., she hadn’t seen her sister in over a year. And college? College wasn’t even on the radar. Her plan was simple. Get a warehouse job. Her words. Not mine. But somewhere along the way another nonprofit stepped into her life and helped expand her vision. They helped her see that something bigger might actually be possible. So she started taking classes at a junior college. And somewhere along the way… Something beautiful happened. She fell in love with learning. Thank goodness. Because noooooow… This young woman is at PV doing the kind of things that make me shake my head and smile. She pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. I had no idea. And theeen… She got involved in Student Government. And theeeeen… She worked her way up and is now serving as Chief of Staff for Prairie View’s Student Government Association. And theeeeeeeeen… Because apparently she likes to stay busy… She’s spent the last four years advocating for youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. And theeeeeeeeeeeeen… She helped organize March to the Polls on campus to encourage student voting. The turnout was so strong that it was featured on local news. And somewhere in the middle of all of that? She’s also been featured on Good Morning America, NBC News, and The Atlanta Voice for her advocacy work. But get this...it gets even gooooooder... L.I. IS OFFICIALLY RUNNING FOR STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT OF PRAIRIE VIEW A&M!!!! If elected, she would serve as the 45th SGA President!!!! Yes! Yes! Yes! To Alllllll the Yeses In Yessissippi! Now if you’ve ever experienced campaign season at an HBCU, you already know. It is a whole production. Signs. Events. Campaign materials. Buttons. All the things. Her campaign budget is $1,200, and she reached out to see if our Mafia Family might be willing to stand behind her. And family… This feels like exactly the kind of moment we show up for. If you’d like to support L.I.’s campaign expenses, you can donate here before Saturday, March 14. SUPPORT L.I.’S SGA PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN Every dollar given through that link will go directly toward helping her run her campaign. And yes… your gift is tax-deductible through Move-In Day Mafia.  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.   There’s something powerful hiding inside L.I.’s story. Before Prairie View. Before Student Government. Before running for SGA President. There was a moment where someone simply believed she was capable of more. Remember… L.I. didn’t even think college was an option. Her plan was to get a warehouse job and start working. But someone stepped in and told her she was capable of more. And she listened. Sometimes the biggest miracle in someone’s life is simply borrowing someone else’s belief until their own catches up. I know that feeling personally. When I first started Move-In Day Mafia, we had $3,500 in the bank and a wild idea to move students into college dorms. No nonprofit background. No blueprint. No idea how we were going to pull it off. Just a nudge from God and a whole lot of faith. But people started believing in the vision before I fully understood what it could become. They donated. They volunteered. They shared the story. And for a while? I had to hold on to their belief until my own caught up. Now look at what this Mafia family has built together. We've moved in 109 scholars at 28 HBCUs...because of YOU! So if you’re in a season where something feels too big… Too uncertain… Too “who do I think I am to even try this?” Let me remind you of something. Sometimes you don’t need full confidence to start. Sometimes you just need one person who believes you can do it. Borrow that belief. Hold on to it. Walk anyway. Because one day you might look up and realize the thing you were scared to start… Is exactly the thing you were meant to do. And before we wrap up, one quick reminder. Adopt-A-Scholar Week kicks off tomorrow. That’s when our scholars’ monthly wishlists open again, and it’s one of the most direct ways this community shows up for them month after month. Because sometimes the thing that changes someone’s life is simply knowing… Somebody believes in them. And around here? That’s exactly what this family does. If this story made you smile the way it made me smile… Take a second to like, comment, share, and subscribe so more people can see what happens when a community decides to believe in students who are often told they can’t succeed. Because the more people who see this movement… The more yeses we get to give. See you next week. Hug yourself for me! TeeJ  If you're new here, Move-In Day Mafia is a community of volunteers and donors who come together to support HBCU students who have experienced foster care, housing instability, or other major life disruptions. We give them decked-out dorm rooms and monthly care packages to see them through to graduation. We call our supporters Mafia Miracle Makers, because that’s exactly what they do. Now, most weeks in the Mafia Miracle Report, I tell you about two or three miracles. Maybe a breakthrough for one of our scholars. Maybe a moment where God showed up right on time. Maybe a story that makes my heart swell and yours too. But this week? We’re only talking about one. Because this week I want you to sit with something. Something we discovered when we ran the numbers from last year. And when I say discovered, I mean something that made me literally say, “OMG… look what the Mafia just did.” Because sometimes the miracle isn’t one dramatic moment. Sometimes the miracle is what happens when hundreds of people quietly show up month after month. And when we finally added everything up… Well… Let’s just say I had to read that spreadsheet twice. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YESES! Recently, my team sent me a spreadsheet summarizing our 2025 Adopt-A-Scholar Week numbers. Now let me pause right here and confess something. I hate spreadsheets. Not dislike. Not avoid. I mean full-on “why are there so many tiny boxes and numbers everywhere” hate. So my team has learned to send them to me in bite-size chunks, because for some reason my brain just refuses to cooperate when I’m staring at rows and columns. But this one? This one stopped me. Because I started reading it the way I always do… left to right.  The first column was labeled Total Wishlist Cost. And when my eyes landed on the number at the bottom, I blinked. $86,074. That’s how much need our scholars had across their wishlists last year. And I remember thinking, “Wait… we helped cover nearly ninety thousand dollars worth of student needs?” I honestly had no idea the number had climbed that high. But then my eyes moved to the next column. And that’s when I really had to sit back in my chair. Because that column showed what the Mafia itself had to cover. $23,168. Which meant something incredible had happened in the column right next to it. Because if the total need was $86,074… And we only needed $23,168 to close the gap… That meant our Mafia Miracle Makers had stepped in and taken care of the rest. $62,906 worth of those wishlists!!!! Ooooooooweee, when I tell you I stared at that number… I mean I stared. Because that didn’t come from one giant donor. That came from this family showing up month after month. Little by little. Item by item. Someone grabbing a $3 box of tea. Someone sending a $200 wig so a student could feel confident walking across campus. Someone covering a $400 refurbished phone so a scholar could stay connected to school and work. Hundreds of individual purchases that added up to $62,906 worth of student needs being covered. And the remaining $23,168? That’s where another beautiful part of this community stepped in. Because not everyone loves shopping. (Lord knows I don't.) So some Mafia Miracle Makers say, “I'm sending you the money to grab that bible the Delaware student asked for.” "Here's a donation to grab those sneakers the Shaw student needs." Therefore, that final portion was covered through direct donations, corporate partners, and our monthly Miracle Makers, allowing the Mafia to make sure every single need was handled. Which means between the generosity of this family and the support of our partners… Every single wishlist need got covered. And here’s what makes that even more powerful. When this Mafia family steps in and covers needs like that, it frees up our budget to do what we came here to do in the first place… Bring in more scholars and keep saying YES. Because my team had just sent the numbers over while I was sitting in my coworking space. And when I realized what I was looking at, I did what can only be described as a whisper scream. You know the one. Not a full scream because there are people around. But loud enough that a couple folks popped their heads up over their laptops like, “Everything okay over there?” And I’m sitting there wide-eye grinning at my screen thinking, OMG. $86,074?! TOTAL!  Eight Six Thousand And Seventy Four Dollars!!!! Do you understand what that means? That means this Mafia family showed up month after month and covered over eighty-six thousand dollars of what our scholars needed to stay steady in college. Not from one giant donor. From people pooling together. Hundreds of individual acts of generosity. Until one day you look up and realize this community quietly covered $86,074 worth of student needs. And yes, I know I've said $86,074 dozens of times already. I can't help it. This is huge! Earlier this week, I was talking with a potential funder, and I found myself explaining something that’s become really important to me about how this work happens. I told her: When someone gives to Move-In Day Mafia, it means we GET TO GIVE more Yeses. Yes to the bedding. Yes to the supplies. Yes to the phone a student needs to stay connected to school and work. Yes to STABILITY. And when I realized this family had created $86,074 worth of yeses for our scholars? I just sat there smiling in that coworking space. Because that’s not just generosity. That’s family making sure our students never have to figure college out alone. And while I was still sitting there grinning at that spreadsheet… Another realization hit me. Something I hadn’t even thought about before. As I looked at the timeline of those purchases… I noticed something that had quietly happened last year. For the first time in Move-In Day Mafia history… Our scholars were supported all twelve months of the year. Let me say that again. All. Twelve. Months. And that matters more than people realize. Just because school lets out in May, doesn’t mean the challenges our scholars face suddenly disappear. In fact, for many of them, summer is the hardest season. Some of our students are couch surfing. Some are trying to figure out where they’re going to land until the dorms open again. Some are navigating unstable housing situations that most college students never have to think about. Which means summer support can be the difference between a student returning in the fall… or not returning at all. So the fact that Mafia family kept showing up month after month… January. February. March. All the way through December… means our scholars had something incredibly powerful. They had family all year long. I’m sitting in a coworking space looking at a spreadsheet that shows this Mafia family quietly stepped in and covered $86,074 (yes I said it again) worth of student needs. Which made something very clear to me. This isn’t just people donating to a cause. This is family pulling together. Month after month. Item after item. Yes after yes. Until one day you look up and realize something incredible is happening. Lives are changing. Futures are stabilizing. Dreams are getting the green light. And that, Mafia Miracle Makers… iiiiiis... Miracles In Motion.  Every month, our scholars have to complete at least one sentence stem:
  Sometimes when I see numbers like $86,074, my mind goes all the way back to the beginning.
Back to Dallas. Back to the very first Move-In Day Mafia. Back to me stepping off that plane with $3,500 in our bank account and 13 students we had promised to move into their dorms. Let me tell you something… I did not have a clue how we were going to pull that off. Not the furniture. Not the supplies. Not the logistics. Nothing. But faith knew something my spreadsheet didn’t. Faith knew we would get there. And sure enough, before that first move-in day was over, someone stepped in and added $17,000. That was the first miracle. Now here we are years later, looking at a community that showed up and covered $86,074 worth of student needs. And it reminds me of a scripture that has always stuck with me: “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” Zechariah 4:10 That verse hits differently when you’ve lived it. Because when you’re standing at the beginning of something God-sized, you almost never have the full picture. You just have the first step. Right now, I still don’t know exactly how we’re going to get to a Move-In Day Mafia chapter on every one of the 101 HBCU campuses. But I do know this: You don’t get there by waiting for perfect conditions. You get there by starting. Start dirty. Start ugly. Start unsure. Start with your knees knocking. Start with your teeth chattering. Start with people wondering if you’re a little bit crazy. Just start. Because S.T.A.R.T. means: Stop Talking And Roll Tenaciously. And if you keep rolling long enough… Those small beginnings will turn into something that makes you look up one day and say, “OMG… look what God just did.” So if that story about $3,500 turning into $86,074 worth of yeses stirred something in you… There’s a way to help create the next miracle. The Miracles In Motion Collective is the group of monthly Mafia Miracle Makers who help us prepare for Move-In Season and make sure we can close the gaps when our scholars’ wishlists aren’t fully covered, by joining the family of monthly supporters. Because every time someone joins… We get to give more yeses. More yeses when students arrive on campus. More yeses when needs pop up during the year. More yeses when a scholar just needs a little stability to keep going. If you’d like to stand with these students in that way, you can join the Collective here: MoveInDayMafia.org/Monthly And if this story made you proud of what this Mafia family is building… Take a second to like, comment, and share so more people can see what happens when a community decides to show up. Because the more people who see this movement… The more yeses we get to give. Hug yourself for me. |
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
May 2026
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