Kalamazoo Rx Kids is ready to launch, giving $7,500 to all families with new babies

KALAMAZOO, MI — Kalamazoo’s new Rx Kids program — available to all expectant parents and babies born after Feb. 1, 2025 — will open for enrollment this week.

The first-of-its kind program for Kalamazoo offers a no-strings-attached cash payment of $1,500 mid-pregnancy and $500 each month during the first year of a baby’s life for families in the city limits.

Kalamazoo’s Rx Kids program is an expansion of a new program that launched in Flint.

“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 Rx Kids Director Dr. Mona Hanna, who’s also Michigan State University’s associate dean of public health.

“We are certain, that just like in Flint, Rx Kids will change the trajectory of a generation of families and the entire Kalamazoo community,” Hanna said.

Rx Kids is available to all pregnant people and babies born after Feb. 1, living in Kalamazoo. Those interested can sign up starting Wednesday at rxkids.org.

Cash payments will start at the point of enrollment. There are no income requirements and families can 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 … 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 already raised the $10 million necessary to operate for the first two years.

The city approved the use of $1.5 million in ARPA funds in December. The Kalamazoo Community Foundation has also committed $1 million via a mobilizing grant to the project.

RELATED: City gives $1.5M to program offering $7,500 to all Kalamazoo families with new babies

“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 will now turn our focus to securing the funds needed for additional years.”

Other funds have come from Advia Foundation, Bronson Children’s Hospital, Bronson Health Foundation, 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.

To mark the launch of Kalamazoo Rx Kids, KZCF invites all Kalamazoo residents and families to a celebration from noon to 4 p.m. Feb. 23, at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, 230 N. Rose St.

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 full of essentials to support growing families.

Anyone interested in donating to Kalamazoo Rx Kids may do so at the Kalamazoo Rx Kids Fund giving page.

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