“Little Miss Flint” has decided to help 1,000 local school kids with new school supplies.
10-year-old Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny partnered with the nonprofit organization, Pack Your Back, over the weekend for a school supply distribution drive in her hometown of Flint, Michigan.
Students within the city’s limits have a serious need for school supplies. So Mari volunteered for the gig.
“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 HuffPost.
Last year, Mari launched the #PackYourBackChallenge hashtag on Twitter as a way to fill 100 backpacks with school supplies. This year, she saw ten time that amount this year.
#PackYourBackChallenge was a success. Every single child that came got a backpack and supplies. Over 1,000 students helped today. pic.twitter.com/BcV65hmrMM
— Mari Copeny (@LittleMissFlint) August 6, 2017
Pack Your Back was founded by Galen Miller and several other Central Michigan University students. They visited Flint during the water crisis and decided to get involved.
“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.”
In April, Mari attended the People’s Climate March. She says she’s simply doing her part to ensure that other Flint kids have what they need to succeed in school.
“I’m a Flint kid that wants to help all the other Flint kids,” she said.
Outstanding!
