FREE Community Celebration on June 11!
In 1918, the United States government recognized ‘Children’s Year,’ an effort to “save 100,000 babies” by addressing issues that impact child welfare, including a lack of data on maternal and child health, the effects of poverty on health, lack of educational resources, and a lack of safe spaces for children to play.
A visual way that advocates for child and maternal health raised awareness of these issues across the country was by hosting “baby parades,” which celebrated and showcased the lives and activities of healthy kids in their communities.
Just a little over a century later, Flint Rx Kids was launched in January 2024 to address many of the same issues the Children’s Year hoped to bring awareness to. Now, Rx Kids is hosting its first-ever Baby Parade in Flint from 2-4 p.m. on June 11 to highlight the historic investment in babies and the program’s early successes. The event will also include an unveiling of the concept for a new Rx Kids mural by Flint Public Art Project, generously funded by the Economic Security Project. Read more about the history of Baby Parades and why Rx Kids is bringing the idea to Flint.
Baby Parade Details
- WHAT: Flint Rx Kids Baby Parade
- WHEN: Tuesday, June 11, 2024; 2-4 p.m.
- WHERE: Applewood Parking lot, located at 305 Walnut Street in the Flint Cultural Center (near the corner of Kearsley and Walnut streets)
- DETAILS: Rx Kids will be hosting a baby parade to celebrate moms and babies and the historic launch of Rx Kids, continue advocating for more attention and resources to meet the needs of moms and babies, and reaffirm the values of Rx Kids. The Rx Kids baby parade will include families and children, Flint community members, performers from local youth organizations including Heart of Worship Dance Studio, skaters from the Flint Roller Derby team, horse and pony rides, ice cream from the MSU Dairy Store, sweet treats from the Sugar Shack food truck, and Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley serving as the parade’s Grand Marshal.
- PARKING: Available across Walnut Street from the event, in the FIM Whiting parking lot.
