YOUR REAL H.U.G.S. CREATE REAL MIRACLES

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 BANANA

I 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 😜