Meet The Day Ones And The Miracles They've Made

Hey Mafia Miracle Makers! This edition will be a little different. Usually, I try to stay scholar-focused, but this week please give me grace to go a bit off-script.

Today’s edition might sound a little like I’m giving QVC energy or running a Home Shopping Network side hustle, but I promise. I just want to lift up a few folks who have held me down with Mafia.

If you are new here...since 2022, Move-In Day Mafia has pulled up to HBCU campuses to provide decked-out dorm rooms and monthly care packages for students who have aged out of foster care or are unhoused.

And todaaaaaaay...

We are celebrating a few of the most loyal, faithful foundational volunteers this Mafia has ever seen… AND the products they've created that deserve to be wrapped under somebody’s Christmas tree.

Because every single person I’m spotlighting today has known me looooooong before Move-In Day Mafia existed.

They knew me when I was Hollywood TeeJ, then author/speaker TeeJ.

They knew me before God tossed me into nonprofit life.

They knew me when I was scared, overwhelmed, and absolutely convinced I was unqualified to create anything that didn't have anything to do with stories on TV.

And they stayed.

They supported.

They covered me.

They cheered while I evolved from a Hollywood veteran… to a woman answering a divine assignment… to the founder of an organization I still sometimes look at like, “Wait… God, you sure you meant me?”

So no, this is not a self-promotion edition.

This is a gratitude edition that just so happens to help you with your Christmas shopping.

This is me saying:
“These folks have held me down… so let me hold THEM up.”


NIKKI KLUGH

There are volunteers, and then there are vision carriers.
And Nikki Klugh?
She’s the latter.

Nikki caught the concept of Move-In Day Mafia about ten years before God ever birthed it.

Back when I just had an idea for a dorm makeover TV show but knew the timing wasn’t right, Nikki said, “Whenever it becomes real, I’m in.”

And baby… she meant that.

When God finally gave me clarity on how Mafia was supposed to be born, Nikki didn’t hesitate. She slid right in like, “Let’s go. Let’s build this.”

From day one, Nikki has been in the trenches with me. Her commitment has never wavered.

Her heart has never shifted.

Her excellence has never dipped.

Because if you’ve ever seen a Move-In Day Mafia dorm room and wondered why it looks like a show on HGTV instead of a “bed-in-a-bag special”… it’s because Nikki Klugh Design Group designed it.

Every single scholar room.
Every theme.
Every detail.
Every moment meant to say, “This is YOUR sacred space.”

That is Nikki.

Her company, Nikki Klugh Design Group (NKDG), has transformed hundreds of spaces since 2003 into luxurious sanctuaries they call Sacred Spaces. Spaces created for healing, restoration, and calm. Spaces that celebrate your wins and remind you that you deserve beauty, comfort, and joy every day.

NKDG is so good at what they do that they designed the National Headquarters for Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

​They’ve been featured in HGTV, Home Depot, Fast Company, and more.

This is not regular-degular design.

This is both budget-friendly and luxury.

Design that breathes.

Aesthetic that hugs you back.

And if you want design tips or want to start creating a Sacred Space in your own home, start here:
👉 https://nikkiklughdesign.com/


​
PATRICE JOHNSON

If you have ever emailed Move-In Day Mafia, chances are you’ve already met Patrice… even if you didn’t know it.

Patrice is our Mafia Admin. She answers every email with patience, clarity, and a kindness that makes people say, “Whoever this is… I love her.”

I've known Patrice for like 20 years, and she has stuck beside me through every evolution of me. She has been holding me down looooooooong before Mafia existed.

But here’s the fun part:
Patrice is also a Paparazzi Accessories Consultant… and listen… if you or your cousin or your coworker or your kid’s teacher needs some cute, affordable, “I need to look pulled together on Zoom” jewelry…

Patrice is your girl.

Everything is $8.

​Yes, eight dollars.

Here’s her site if you want to support someone who supports this Mafia with her whole heart:

👉 www.paparazziaccessories.com/381571


​
ANDREA HARRISON

Now listen… if Patrice is the calm in the chaos, Andrea is the megaphone in my miracle moments.

This woman has been with me since BEFORE Mafia… back when I was a media coach helping her dynamo daughter prep for her Steve Harvey Show appearance. And from that day to this one, Andrea's support has been LOUD, relentless, and rooted in love.

This woman has been with me since BEFORE Mafia… back when I was a media coach helping her dynamo daughter prep for her Steve Harvey Show appearance. And from that day, Andrea's support has been LOUD, relentless, and rooted in love.

Andrea is the first person I call when God drops one of His wild, outlandish ideas on me.

She never blinks.

Never doubts.

Never says, “Girl, you sure?”

She just goes, “Okay, let’s go then.”

She has been one of my biggest cheerleaders for nearly a decade… in my ear, in my corner, pushing me when I’m scared, reminding me who I am when I forget.

And I’ve watched HER evolve too.

I watched her go from slinging five-dollar jewelry on Facebook Live (which is why I nicknamed her The BlingSlinger) to now hosting daily devotionals called Shine With Andrea every weekday at 10 am ET.

If you want a word, a laugh, a check-in, a holy push, or all of the above… tune in here:
👉 https://www.facebook.com/ANDREASHINEHARRISON

But yall… Andrea didn’t stop there.

Andrea wrote a book.

A POWERFUL book.

A book so strong that powerhouse Marshawn Evans Daniels (former "The Apprentice" alum) herself wrote the foreword.

It’s called Show Up & Shine, and it is a guide for every woman who is tired of shrinking, tired of doubting, tired of hiding her brilliance under humility that God did NOT ask for.​

This book walks women from:
• Hidden to seen
• Burned out to bold
• Exhausted to empowered

Show Up & Shine is for the woman who knows she’s called… but needs the courage and clarity to actually step into it.

You can grab it and learn more about Andrea here:
👉 https://shinewithandrea.com/



MINA STARKS

If you have ever seen a Move-In Day Mafia room and wondered how Nikki’s gorgeous design turned into real-life magic on a campus thousands of miles from her office, let me introduce you to the woman who makes the vision hit the floor.
​
Mina is the boots-on-the-ground genius.

The detail doula.

The “I know it’s 10 pm, but let’s go to one more TJMaxx just in case” queen.

When it comes to Mafia, if you see me, you can bet money Mina is somewhere near, watching my back, pushing this mission as hard as I do.

She travels with me.

She gets in the trenches with me.

She has been on wild, “Are we lost or is this still a road” adventures with me.

We have missed flights together (plural)…

And still found a way to laugh until our sides hurt.

But here is what makes her special:
Mina will not, under any circumstances, skimp on a scholar’s room.

She will hunt down the perfect throw pillow or lamp that ties the whole thing together.

She will add her creative flow to Nikki’s designs so each room feels personalized.

Because Mina believes what we believe:
Dignity lives in the details.

And she makes sure every scholar walks into a room that whispers:
“We see you.”
“We thought about you.”
“You matter.”

But let me brag on her other lane…

​Mina and her husband Raymond, run Stir and Mixxes, a luxury candle company born straight outta love and ambiance mastery. Their hand-poured soy candles aren’t just pretty… they transform rooms. They shift moods. They soften your whole atmosphere like you just stepped into your own personal sacred space.

They are clean, long-lasting, mood-setting, and downright addicting.

If you need a Christmas gift that says “I want my house to smell like peace and luxury,” go grab a candle at StirAndMixxes.com.



LATERRA WISE

Mafia Miracle Maker, I need you to pause right here and whisper a quick prayer for LaTerra.

Why?

Because she is the one who talks to me every single day. God bless her.

She gets all sides of TeeJ. Morning TeeJ. Night-owl TeeJ. “I got a wild idea” TeeJ. “I’m overwhelmed” TeeJ. “I got this… but I actually don't.” TeeJ.

And somehow… SOMEHOW… she still loves me.

LaTerra is the string to my helium balloon.

When my imagination takes off running full speed, she is the calm, steady “Okay, let’s make this make sense first.”

She is the rationale to my glitter.

The grounded to my giddy.

The soft landing to my dramatic free-falls.

And when she and Mina are boots on the ground together?

Whew. Chile.

​That is a dynamic duo that deserves its own Marvel movie.

But the story I must share one day… is the time I was trying to be “helpful” on a build and worked their last nerve.

Next thing I know… these two dynamos had exiled me to the hallway to guard the trash.

GUARD. THE. TRASH.

Since when does trash need security?

I was out there like a confused bouncer for a bag of old bedding.

I still cackle thinking about it.

But here’s the real deal…

LaTerra doesn’t just support Mafia.

She LOOOOOOVES Mafia.

She mothers our scholars with a tenderness that cannot be taught.

She listens between the words.

She notices what they didn’t say.

She carries their hearts like they matter… because to her, they do.

She is truly the emotional heartbeat of this organization.

And when she’s not holding me together or pouring into our scholars, she’s out here helping women step out of survival mode and into purpose.

Her coaching, her writing, her speaking… all of it is drenched in wisdom and compassion.

Her newest book, “Unmasked: A 31 Day Journey to Peace, Deep Healing, and True Freedom,” plus her other books and her brand-new coloring book, can be found right here:
👉🏽 Amazon Link: [LaTerra Wise Books]

And listen… if you’ve got a sister-friend, coworker, mama, mentee, niece, or auntie who is stepping into a new season…

One of LaTerra’s books would make the PERFECT Christmas gift.

It’s encouragement.
It’s healing.
It’s hope… wrapped up in pages.

And if you want to grab one of her coaching packages, check out https://laterrawise.com/ to learn more.

So that’s my little love letter to the Day Ones who have held me up, prayed me through, built beside me, and helped turn a wild God assignment into a full-blown movement.

If you still need Christmas gifts… listen… support these folks.

They have poured into me, into Mafia, and into our scholars with their whole hearts.

The least I can do is shine a little light back on them and invite you to do the same.

And thank you… truly… for indulging me this week.

For letting me brag on the people who were the backbone of this work long before there were dorm rooms, care packages, or national fundraisers.

It means more than you know.

Now…shifting back to the babies...

#AdoptAScholar Week kicks off December 14th!

December looks a lot like summer for many of our scholars.

Several are couch-surfing, navigating unstable housing, or headed home to environments that aren’t safe.

Therefore, this month, just like Summer Survival Season, we will be providing ONLY Visa gift cards so they can buy what they need where they are… food, hygiene, warmth, transportation… survival.

Each scholar gets $200 in gift cards.

Read the stories.

Share the link...MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar

And if you can… pick up even one $25 gift card and help us love these students well.

Hug yourself for me!