How ‘Little Miss Flint’ Just Helped Over 1,000 Local Students Get New School Supplies

Photo credit: Loui Lulu Brezzell

Amariyanna ‘Mari’ Copeny is a 10-year-old little girl with a big heart for service. 

Dubbed “Little Miss Flint” for her advocacy work to bring clean water to her hometown of Flint, Michigan, Mari recently partnered with a nonprofit organization called Pack Your Back to distribute school supplies to Flint students over the weekend.  

“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,” said Galen Miller, founder of Pack Your Back.   

Photo credit: Loui Lulu Brezzell

With there being a great need for school supplies in the city, Mari decided to lend a hand to help change that. 

“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 said. 

Photo credit: Loui Lulu Brezzell

Turns out, Mari did something similar last year when she started the Pack Your Back Challenge on Twitter, which went on to help her fill 100 backpacks with school supplies. This year, she saw 10 times that amount as over 1,000 students were given backpacks and school supplies. She was also able to raise $10,000 online. 

“I’m a Flint kid that wants to help all the other Flint kids,” Mari said.

Plus, Mari is a young leader who is clearly on a mission to make a difference, one day at a time.