She Plans On Running For President When She Grows Up, But As For Right Now, This Teen Is On A Mission To Bring The Magic Of Christmas To Kids In Her Community That Could Really Use Some Holiday Cheer
Flint, Michigan. Her name is Mari, but you probably know her best as “Little Miss Flint,” a name this 14-year-old picked up quickly after she penned a letter to President Obama at the tender age of 8.
In her letter to the president, Mari asked that President Obama organize a visit to Flint, Michigan, to see just how badly the water crisis had become.
President Obama agreed, and after getting to spend time in Flint, he ultimately went on to allocate $100 million dollars to the city to help alleviate the water crisis.
Since that success, Mari hasn’t slowed down one bit with her activism.
“In 2017 Mari continued her dedication to social justice by becoming a national youth ambassador to the Women’s March on Washington and the National Climate Mari,” a website for Mari reads.
Instagram; pictured above is Mari
“Mari is also dedicated to preventing bullying and works with the anti-bullying group Trendsetters Productions. She is also a member of the Flint Youth Justice League. She also sat on the 2019 Kid Box board of directors as the chairwoman of the board.”
“She also proudly works with Eighteen by 18, a youth organization founded by her mentor Yara Shahidi.”
“Mari has also spoken twice at the March for Science about how the Flint water crisis has affected her community. Mari has a doll that is modeled after her by the doll company Lottie. She also sits on the Flint Youth Justice League and the MDE Anti-Racism Student Advisory Council.”
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Mari plans on getting to run for president when she grows up, but as for right now, she’s on a mission to bring the magic of Christmas to kids in her community that could really use some holiday cheer.
Christmas is Mari’s favorite holiday, and since she was 8-years-old, she’s been working to raise money each holiday season to give back to Flint children who need it most.
Instagram; pictured above Mari smiles in front of a pile of presents back when she first started this wonderful cause
“I love Christmas and being able to spread the magic of Christmas to other kids is my favorite thing to do,” Mari wrote on a GoFundMe page dedicated to raising money for her holiday event.
“In years past we have done whatever we can to make our events something truly memorable, including having inflatables, arts and crafts, cookie decorating, stocking stuffing, a hot cocoa bar, real reindeer, book giveaway, cold weather gear giveaway, and a black Santa clause.”
Unfortunately, during the 2020 holiday season, the pandemic meant that Mari wasn’t able to do as much as she had in other years.
Despite that setback, she still helped more than 100 children have presents under their tree for Christmas, and Mari’s goal for this year is to help 1,000 children.
“This year we are back and the plan is to bring back my winter wonderland, even bigger and better than before but I need your help to pull this off,” Mari continued.
“Many local families are feeling the pain from dealing with the ongoing global pandemic and are struggling now more than ever.”
“That is why I want to step up and not only take some of the burden away from local parents, but to bring some Christmas joy to the entire family.”
If you would like to help on her mission Mari bring the magic of Christmas to children in need, you can donate to her GoFundMe page here.
You can also follow her on Instagram here!
More About:Human Interest