‘Little Miss Flint’ helps donate supplies to over 1,000 students

Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny, also known as “Little Miss Flint,” is only 10 years old, but she is already working hard to make a difference.

On Sunday, she teamed up with nonprofit organization Pack Your Back in order to help distribute school supplies to local students in her hometown, Flint, Michigan.

“I wanted to make sure kids got the best start possible to the school year and for their parents to not have to worry about having to buy supplies,” Mari told the Huffington Post.

Mari was able to get school supplies for 100 students last year after she started her #PackYourBackChallenge on Twitter, but this year, she wanted to aim higher. Working with the Pack Your Back organization, Mari and the nonprofit were able to distribute backpacks to over 1,000 students who came to the event.

Mari was also able to raise $10,000 online.

Pack Your Back founder Galen Miller, along with several other Central Michigan University students, said that they had begun their organization because they had seen the reports about the Flint water crisis and wanted to help somehow.

“We saw the need that was in the city at the time during the water crisis for water, but we also saw how it was having an impact on students,” Miller said. “We came up with the idea to buy school supplies because a lot of people can’t afford them, especially during times of trouble like the water crisis.”

As for Mari, she just wants to make sure that other kids in her hometown have a chance: “I’m a Flint kid that wants to help all the other Flint kids.”