The Pontiac Funders Collaborative celebrated the expansion of RxKids into Pontiac during a baby parade on May 9, complete with ice cream, music and activities for kids and families at Wisner Memorial Stadium in the city. The RxKids event was free and open to the public.
Originally launched in Flint in 2024, Rx Kids offers cash prescriptions to pregnant mothers with no strings attached, providing an initial $1,500 during pregnancy and an additional $500 per month throughout the baby’s first year of life.
Rx Kids — in partnership with the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency, the City of Pontiac, Oakland County, The Alix Foundation, Total Health, Priority Health Foundation, and the Pontiac Funders Collaborative — announced its expansion into Pontiac in March. The Pontiac Funders Collaborative, an initiative of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan manages, contributed $1 million toward the expansion.
The program will provide critical financial support to expecting mothers and families in the city, with $8.5 million contributed to ensure its success across the first two years. The transformative initiative aims to strengthen families and reduce childhood poverty.
“Investing in mothers and infants is one of the most effective ways to build a healthier and stronger community,” said Dr. Mona Hanna, pediatrician, director of Rx Kids, and associate dean of public health at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.
So far, $280,500 has been prescribed, 184 families enrolled and 46 babies born in Pontiac with RxKids’ support, according to a dashboard tracking the initiative’s progress.
Parents Jashayla Davis and Terry Williams, who attended the baby parade on May 9 with their 4-day-old baby La’Nay, told The Detroit News that the initiative is already making an impact on their lives.
“I feel like (Rx Kids will) definitely help La’Nay get everything she needs, such as even bigger clothes. It’ll help her out a lot,” said her mom, Jashayla Davis.
“It feels like God wrote us a check,” said Terry Williams, La’Nay’s father, of the assistance the family has received since her birth.
