Welcome to Milwaukee

A Program to Give Milwaukee’s Babies a Bright Start

The birth of a baby plunges parents into a new world. It’s a world consumed by the here and now. Feeding and diapers. Doctors and checkups. Car seats and sleep. With all the immediate needs, preparing the baby for school hardly makes the radar.

But those early days are actually the prime time to get kids ready for learning. The first months and years build babies’ brains in ways that affect them for life. And with just a little knowledge and effort, their families can set them up for success.

The Welcome to Milwaukee program distributes care packages to the families of babies born at the St. Joseph Campus of Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital. The packages arm parents with information about early brain development, plus the resources they need to put it into practice. So every baby can start life poised to thrive.

Each Welcome to Milwaukee package contains:

 
  • Size 1 diapers provided by Milwaukee Diaper Mission

  • A diaper bag from Molina Healthcare

  • A multicultural board book provided by the City of Milwaukee Public Library

  • A keychain & access to an app with parenting tips from CTSI CAN/Vroom

  • Free one-day pass to Betty Brinn Children’s Museum

  • A “Graduate Class of 2040” Onesie provided by Black Child Development Institute – Milwaukee in partnership with OECI

  • A list of free/low-cost resources from City of Milwaukee Health Department

Families also have the chance to request more help via a survey as part of the program.

Welcome to Milwaukee is a collaboration between: