Amariyanna Copeny facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amariyanna Copeny
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Copeny in 2016
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| Born | July 6, 2007 Flint, Michigan, U.S.
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| Years active | 2016–present |
Amariyanna "Mari" Copeny (born July 6, 2007) is a young leader from Flint, Michigan. Many people know her as Little Miss Flint. She is famous for helping people and speaking up for what is right.
Mari has worked hard to tell everyone about the Flint water crisis. She also raises money to help kids in her hometown and all over the United States.
Mari's Work
Helping with the Flint Water Crisis
When Mari Copeny was 8 years old, she wrote a letter to President Barack Obama. She wanted him to know about the serious water problems in Flint, Michigan. Her letter made a big difference!
President Obama wrote back to Mari. He said that letters from kids like her made him hopeful for the future. On May 4, 2016, President Obama visited Flint. He saw firsthand how the lead-poisoned water was affecting people.
His visit helped more people across the country learn about Flint's problems. President Obama later approved $100 million to help fix the crisis. Even though many steps have been taken, people in Flint still feel the effects.
Mari continued to speak out. On April 13, 2017, she spoke at a rally in Washington, D.C. She reminded everyone that then-candidate Donald Trump had promised to fix Flint's water. Mari said that President Trump had not kept his promise. She also spoke about other important issues, like immigration.
To keep the focus on Flint's water, Mari started a new effort in 2018. She teamed up with Pack Your Back for "The Little Miss Flint & PYB Water Drive." This was a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for bottled water. The state had stopped giving out free bottled water to Flint residents.
During that month-long campaign, they raised almost $50,000. This was enough money for over 200,000 bottles of water!
In 2019, Mari started another donation campaign called the Little Miss Flint Clean Water Fund. She partnered with Hydroviv, a company that makes water filters. This partnership helped her make the most of the money donated. It also helped reduce plastic waste from bottled water.
Mari reached her first goal of $100,000 in September 2019. She then reached $250,000 in June 2020. By Earth Day 2021, she had raised $500,000! Her fundraiser is still going strong with a new goal of $1 million. She wants to help many communities across the country get clean water while their water systems are being fixed.
Mari Copeny is often called "Little Miss Flint" by the media. This nickname came from a beauty contest she won in 2015.
Helping Her Community
Mari Copeny also works hard to help kids in other ways. Before school started in 2016 and 2017, she worked with Pack Your Back. This group was started by students from Central Michigan University. Mari raised money to help students in Flint.
She collected donations to fill backpacks with school supplies. In 2016, she raised enough for 100 backpacks. In 2017, she raised $10,000 to buy 1,000 backpacks for local children.
In 2018, Mari started another GoFundMe campaign. This was part of the #BlackPantherChallenge. She raised over $16,000 to help hundreds of kids see the movie Black Panther. She also helped them get movie toys. Mari hoped this would give the mostly Black audience positive feelings about themselves and inspire them.
Mari's other projects include:
- The Dear Flint Kids project: This asked people to write encouraging letters to children in Flint.
- A project to give away free copies of the book A Wrinkle in Time.
- Organizing Christmas parties and giving Easter baskets to kids who needed them.
- Supporting local schools with programs to stop bullying.
In 2022, Mari received the 3rd Change Maker Award at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards. This award honored her important work for the environment.
