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Last Friday afternoon, Ana Rodney, the founder and CEO of MOMCares, received four, then five, then ten alerts about donations to her organization — an unusually large influx in a short period of time.
Many of them said “In memory of Lance Reddick.”
Rodney, who was on her way to pick up her brother from work, said she pulled over to see why so many people were donating in “The Wire” actor’s name when she found out that Reddick, a friend and supporter of her organization, had died.
“It’s a lot to process,” Rodney said. “It’s only been a couple of days, and every couple of minutes, we get an email [donation]. It’s just a testament to me about how many people he actually touched and not just through his movies, but just through the person that he was. I’m intending that, in his respect and support and belief in us, we can honor him moving forward with this gift that he didn’t have to give us.”
On Saturday, after just one day of donations, supporters had raised $12,000, the most money MOMCares has raised in a single day, Rodney said.
Reddick, a Baltimore native best known for his roles in the “John Wick” film series and as Cedric Daniels on HBO’s “The Wire,” died at his Los Angeles home, his publicist Mia Hansen said in a statement Friday. He was 60. His wife, Stephanie Reddick, thanked fans for their support and directed anyone willing to make donations to send them to MOMCares, Rodney’s organization.
Founded in 2017, MOMCares is a Baltimore-based nonprofit that helps Black mothers with prenatal and postpartum care. Rodney said Reddick had supported the cause since 2019, when she met him at a Baltimore Homecoming event meant to connect Baltimoreans across the country to invest in Baltimore’s future.
At the event, Rodney spoke about her work and was named one of five Baltimore Homecoming heroes — a community-nominated award — and she said, to her surprise, Reddick introduced himself at the event.
“He just was kind of like, ‘Hey, I want to support. What does that look like? How can I support?’” Rodney said. “He wanted to know the difference between a doula and a midwife, and [asked] was I [Rodney] a midwife? He just was really interested in the work.”
The executive director of Baltimore Homecoming, Robbin Lee, said that seeing Reddick engage with Rodney and MOMCares was special.
“Ana could lean on him, could call on him for something, just throw some ideas on him — that kind of thing,” Lee said. “He had so much more access to a different network of people that really added value to Ana in her work. That’s why it’s such a shame of his passing because he was such an example of an amazing human being. The way in which he was intentionally reconnecting with his hometown and impacting this community leader in Baltimore was really special to us.”
Rodney said that although she didn’t know Reddick long, he left a lasting impression on her organization — and is continuing to support it now, as those who loved him and appreciated his work continue sending money. Donations are steadily coming in, “and we’re humble. It’s just Lance taking care of us. I can just hear him saying ‘What can I do? What do you need?’ ” she said.
Currently, MOMCares works with Fusion Partnerships, but Rodney said her team recently decided they want to grow into an independently run nonprofit organization.
“We’ve lost the person that obviously cared about us,” Rodney said. “But the gift coming in this moment is exactly what we need to make sure that this transition is fruitful and successful, and that we can continue to do the work. … We’re going to be OK.”
Rodney hopes that his legacy can continue on through her work at MOMCares.
“I will say that if it has anything to do with me, we’ve got to make sure that Lance’s legacy continues and just the spirit of humility and helpfulness and generosity continues to live in our work in honor of him,” Rodney said. “Because he was a celebrity, right? He was in ‘John Wick’ and was on ‘The Wire,’ but he was just a good human.”
abby.zimmardi@thebaltimorebanner.com
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Abby Zimmardi is a reporter covering Howard County for The Baltimore Banner. Zimmardi earned her master’s degree from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism in December 2022.
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