Team Mari Back 2 School 2024

Hi everyone!!

I'm Mari, I'm a 17-year-old kid from Flint, MI. I am known globally as "Little Miss Flint". When it comes to all things related to kids in Flint, and clean water globally that's my focus.

For the past 9 years, I have been doing my annual back-to-school drive and backpack giveaway. In my very first year, my goal was 50 backpacks and I was able to 100. In my second year, we did 1,000 backpacks. One year we did a backpack for every single child in the city of Flint. To date, we have been able to distribute 20,000 fully stuffed backpacks.

The average cost of the school supply list from teachers from kindergarten to 12th grade is over 120 dollars, most low-income families can not afford these supplies and it puts a strain on the kid's teachers to try to fill the gap. We want to make sure kids are equipped with everything they need to have a successful school year.

Every year we add new elements to my giveaways to meet the needs of the families and kids in my community. This year we are focusing on backpacks, toiletries and sneakers. This year's goal is 1,000 backpacks and at least 100 pairs of sneakers.