Date: February 10, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Erika R. Whitehead
(269) 585-7251
Historic Kalamazoo Rx Kids Program Set to Launch for City of Kalamazoo Residents on Feb. 12, 2025
In addition to securing several funding commitments, Kalamazoo Rx Kids obtained its final funding commitment for the first two years of operation from Kalamazoo Community Foundation’s new Mobilizing Grant.
Kalamazoo, Mich. – Kalamazoo Rx Kids, the City of Kalamazoo’s first-ever cash prescription program for expectant mothers and infants, will open for enrollment on Feb. 12, 2025. The program, which is an expansion of Flint Rx Kids and a statewide program, will provide a no-strings-attached cash prescription of $1,500 during mid-pregnancy and $500 each month for the first year of a baby’s life.
“When Rx Kids launched in Flint one year ago, the goal was to prove that we could successfully build an efficient and effective program to not only bolster family financial security and improve maternal and infant health outcomes, but to also share this ready-to-go program with communities across our great state,” said Mona Hanna, pediatrician, director of Rx Kids and Michigan State University College of Human Medicine associate dean of public health. “It has been an absolute joy working with Kalamazoo leaders who roll up their sleeves and do what is best for our kids. We are certain, that just like in Flint, Rx Kids will change the trajectory of a generation of families and the entire Kalamazoo community.”
Rx Kids is available to all City of Kalamazoo pregnant people and babies born on or after Feb. 1, 2025. Participants can sign up during pregnancy or until a child is six months of age. Cash prescriptions will start at the point of enrollment. There are no income requirements or strings attached. Families are free to spend their Rx Kids dollars as they see fit.
"We are excited for the launch of Rx Kids,” said Jameca Patrick-Singleton, executive director of Cradle Kalamazoo and vice president of community health for YWCA Kalamazoo. “The goal of Cradle is to decrease infant mortality for Black babies in Kalamazoo County by providing free resources and support with dignity and having Rx Kids as a tool in our toolbox will help us achieve that mission.”
With a funding goal of $5 million per year to operate, Kalamazoo Rx Kids has raised the $10 million in funding required to operate for the first two years, with a final commitment from Kalamazoo Community Foundation (KZCF) via our new Mobilizing Grant. Additional funding has come from the state of Michigan, allowing the program to expand to several low-income communities across the state in 2025.
In addition to KZCF, early funders of Kalamazoo Rx Kids include Advia Foundation, Bronson Children’s Hospital, Bronson Health Foundation, the City of Kalamazoo, Dorothy U. Dalton Foundation, ENNA Foundation, Harold & Grace Upjohn Foundation, Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, Kalamazoo County, Marvin & Rosalie Okun Foundation, Stryker Johnston Foundation, Suzanne Upjohn DeLano Parish Foundation and United Way of South Central Michigan.
“KZCF is honored to be a part of such a long and diverse list of funders who are rallying together to make Kalamazoo more equitable for our babies and families,” said Alyssa Stewart, chief community impact officer at KZCF. “We are also excited to announce that with the support of our board of trustees, we are issuing our first $1 million Mobilizing Grant to Kalamazoo Rx Kids, getting us across the finish line to fully fund the first two years of the program. We will now turn our focus to securing the funds needed for additional years.”
Rx Kids is a program of the Michigan State University Pediatric Public Health Initiative, in collaboration with Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan and administered by Give Directly. Local champions include Cradle Kalamazoo for community outreach and KZCF for mobilizing ongoing fundraising support.
More information about Rx Kids and the simple application are available at rxkids.org.
To mark the launch of Kalamazoo Rx Kids, KZCF invites all City of Kalamazoo residents and families to a celebration at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum on Feb. 23, 2025. Attendees will enjoy “One World, One Sky,” a complimentary show in the planetarium, and Measure Up, an interactive activity in the Innovation Lab. The first 100 individuals who arrive will also receive complimentary swag bags packed full of helpful essentials to support growing families.
To show your support for Kalamazoo Rx Kids, please visit our Kalamazoo Rx Kids Fund giving page to make a gift today.
About Kalamazoo Community Foundation
KZCF, established in 1925, has the vision of Kalamazoo County being the most equitable place to live, with the mission to mobilize people, resources and expertise and to advance racial, social and economic justice. Learn more at kalfound.org.
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