Services

What is "Be The Difference?"

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B the Difference was founded in October 2011 by Stephanie and Jessica Merritt to honor the memory of their brother, Brandon who passed away from a disease called Neurofibromatosis. Neurofibromatosis (NF), is a disease targeting the nervous system causing tumors to grow on any nerve endings. NF can lead to blindness, bone abnormalities, cancer, deafness, disfigurement, learning disabilities, and excruciating and disabling pain.  NF can occur both spontaneously or genetically and affects 1 in 3,000 births.

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B The Difference has two programs to assist a families struggling with NF:

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B Kind provides assistance to families through food security, rent assistance, laptops and tablets for online schooling, hotel funds for out-of-state surgeries and appointments, school supplies and uniforms, co-pays for surgeries, and more.

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B Happy provides five-day all-expense paid hosted vacations for selected NF recipients and their families. The B the Difference Board works with highly regarded NF doctors to select NF patients to be considered for this opportunity