'Little Miss Flint' Helps Get New School Supplies For 1,000 Local Students

Photo Credit: Loui Brezzell for HuffPost

The 10-year-old is making sure more than 1,000 local students get backpacks with school supplies included in them.

Amariyanna "Mari" Copeny, also known as Little Miss Flint, has partnered with nonprofit organization Pack Your Back to distribute school supplies in Flint, Michigan, her hometown. Copeny and Pack Your Back not only gave out more than 1,000 backpacks to students who attended the distribution event but they also raised around $10,000 online.

"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," Copeny said to HuffPost.

Copeny's transformation into Little Miss Flint began last year when she started the #PackYourBackChallenge on Twitter and was able to fill 100 backpacks with school supplies.

Flint is still dealing with the water crisis that resulted in the city's drinking water being contaminated by high levels of lead. Although the water quality has returned to acceptable levels the city's residents have been advised to continue using bottled or filtered water until all the lead pipes have been replaced.

READ: Michigan Officials Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter For Flint Water Crisis

Michigan officials have been charged with manslaughter for the water crisis, which includes Nick Lyon, the director of the state’s health department; Stephen Busch, a water supervisor for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; Darnell Earley, who had been a state-appointed emergency manager for Flint; Howard Croft, former director of the city’s public works department; and Liane Shekter-Smith, who served as chief of the state’s Office of Drinking Water.

Source: huffingtonpost.com