For the second time in 18 months, Mariyanna “Mari” Copeney, also known as Little Miss Flint, has had her storage unit broken into, resulting in thousands of dollars in supplies for Flint children being stolen and vandalized, alongside Team Mari’s Back-to-School drive having to be cut down from the goal of 1,000 sponsors to 500.
On Thursday, July 23, Copeney and her team found that the storage unit where she keeps event items had been broken into and vandalized.
The perpetrator(s) stole thousands of dollars in school supplies, bikes, toys, coats, Halloween costumes and two “Team Mari” banners. They also destroyed thousands of dollars in toys and event items alongside the stolen goods.
The first incident occurred in January of 2025, where toys, cameras and other Christmas items were stolen from the same storage unit.
Copeney and her team host quarterly giveaway events during Easter, Back-to-School, Halloween and Christmas, where these items are distributed to Flint children and families.
During Easter time, children can participate in an egg hunt and Easter basket giveaways. During back-to-school, the team supplies backpacks, school supplies, sneakers, hygiene products and any other items students may need to have a successful school year.
For Halloween, brand-new costumes are given out to children, and at Christmas time children come to Copeney’s toy shop and leave with bags full of toys.
Copeney said that it’s important that she provides these resources to children in Flint because they deserve more than the bare minimum.
“My goal is to provide kids with both necessities and the fun stuff that parents can’t always afford,” Copeney said.
Copeney said that these break-ins have left her considering if she should continue her work.
“It sets every event for the next year,” Copeney said. “Instead of being able to focus on extra necessities, we are back to start getting backpacks and school supplies. It hurts and makes me angry that someone could clearly see things for a kids’ event and just take whatever they want.”
Copeney and her team are currently working to save her back-to-school event by asking the community for help. The team is asking for donations through the Little Miss Flint Instagram page to fund school supplies, food, sneakers, hygiene kit items and a sponsor for inflatables.
So far, 284 children have been sponsored, with 216 still in need of resources. Her Back-to-School event is set to be hosted on Aug. 29.
Flint Police Department detectives are currently working to subpoena footage for evidence.
Rylie Yeiter is a writer for the Michigan Times and can be reached at jasobii@umich.edu.
