The Difference in the Community

Introduction

Something unique about The Difference is our outspoken commitment to the health of certain communities which suffer more acutely from weight related problems than others. We execute our commitment to target communities through a model that we coined called “Business-to-Demographic-Community” or B2D. We state our commitment clearly in our Mission and Vision:

Mission

“The Difference seeks to make lasting improvement in our clients’ and communities’ health and wellness with predictive, intuitive, and affordable weight management technology.”

Vision

“The Difference seeks to achieve healthy long-term nutrition, activity, and weight management habits for our clients and communities to improve quality of life and prolong longevity.”

Some of the target communities that we have identified so far include African Americans, Latinos, rural populations, and certain segments of the LGBTQIA community. In our attempts to make change in these demographics, we have aligned ourselves with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) #3 “Good Health and Well Being” and #10 “Reduced Inequalities.” We execute our commitment to target communities through a model that we coined called “Business-to-Demographic-Community” or B2D, whereby we attempt to identify and partner with for-profit, not-for-profit and governmental entities that operate within the target communities.

Our ideal community partners are ones that may lack the resources to achieve or want to outsource the goal to improve the health and wellness of one or more targeted communities. We believe that our partners will realize significant value and secure growth by working with The Difference.

Discussion

The Difference is built for anyone and is versatile enough to help clients achieve a wide range of weight goals. However, we recognize that the value of the technology is maximized for people that really need assistance. Obesity is a serious problem in the United States. Helping to solve that problem is integral in our attempts to be a company that is dedicated to social good.

Target Communities

Unfortunately, existing health and health outcomes are not the same for everyone in the United States. While wealth plays a major role in disparities, we find that communities are not well defined by wealth categories. Instead, communities are more often formed by racial groupings, geographic settings, and special interests. A 2021 study revealed an obesity rate of 50% for Black Americans and as high as 57% for Black women. The second highest rate of obesity by race was for Hispanics at 44.8%. [1] Geographically, a 2016 study found an obesity rate of 34.2% in rural counties, compared to 28.7% in urban areas. The greatest gaps were found in the Southern and Northeastern United States. [2] Within the LGBTQ community, the rate of obesity is as high as 49% for lesbians and 43% for bisexual women. [3]

Sustainable Development Goals

Our company is purposefully aligned with ESG SDG #3 “Good Health and Well Being”, #10 “Reduced Inequalities” and #17 “Partnerships for the Goals.” We want a brighter future for our clients. and we know that we have a responsibility to help them realize a better a life though the use of our weight management technology. Equality is also vital. We know that there are a myriad of issues relating to food and weight that hinder this from existing. For example, food scarcity compounded by low incomes can lead to unhealthy food choices. We hope that when our clients record their consumption, it is an educational experience that leads to better food choices. This is discussed in “Plantain Gain! The Benefits of a Food Journal”.

B2D: Business-to-Demographic-Community Model

One way that The Difference implements our commitment to change is through our Business-to-Demographic-Community model. This is a new business model term that we coined. Practically speaking, we execute it by identifying and partnering with for-profit, not-for-profit and governmental entities that operate within target communities. These entities are described by having employees, customers, or networks of people that have high representation within target communities. These may also have be in the form of social media followers, email or physical mail subscribers.

If we are focused on an entity’s employees, our value proposition to the entity is to improve productivity and reduce medical and insurance costs by having their employees use our technology. If we are focused on reaching out to an entity’s network of targeted customers, we instead propose to provide discounted access to our technology as well as mutual promotion, whereby we feature the entity as one of our supporters, and they communicate to their network that we are out to make a difference with them.

Outreach

We also make our presence known in targeted communities by physically being there. You will find us attending health fairs and other events to educate people about the benefits of weight management. We also discuss the risks of obesity and comorbidities of diseases that are exacerbated by unhealthy weight. As an example, please see the footage below from a series of health fairs in Harlem, NY.

Value Proposition

Our ideal community partners are ones that want to support the goal to improve the health and wellness of one or more targeted communities. Sometimes, these partners may lack the resources to achieve this goal themselves or are seeking to augment their commitment to this goal. The partner’s business operations may or may not have direct connection to the health and wellness field. Potential partners may want to add to their existing community-oriented programs, but don’t know how do so themselves, or they may have no such programs in place. They may be looking for a partner to achieve these goals, but don’t know where or with whom to invest. For all these reasons, The Difference provides a solid solution. Our mission is to improve health and well-being and we are aligned with several relevant SDGs.

The Difference is also a minority and women owned, operated, advised, and financed business and is seeking supplier diversity certification(s). In addition, our partners will find that our advanced predictive weight change technology is unique. Therefore, a partnership with The Difference is difficult to replicate elsewhere and shows commitment to improving health and well-being, health outcomes, and reduced inequalities. Our company is particularly devoted to targeted communities where the impact is greatest. These are key components of social and environmental responsibility. In this regard, we believe that our partners will realize significant value and secure growth by working with The Difference.

Conclusion

We want to “Make The Difference” in targeted communities. Potential partners include for-profit, not-for-profit, and governmental entities within these communities. We are also looking for traditional B2B or Business-to-Business collaborators. For more information about our B2D or “Business-to-Demographic-Community” or B2B models or becoming a community or business partner, please contact us at Partners@TheDifferenceApp.com.

[1] Prevalence of Obesity and Severe Obesity Among Adults: United States, 2017–2018, National Center for Health Statistics. [2] and [3] 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey.