About Us
Akanksha Dave, Founder
Hi! I'm Akanksha, and I'm a college student at the University of Pittsburgh. Because of the pandemic, I wasn't able to continue volunteering in-person at my local hospital's emergency department, nor was I able to see or play my cello for my friends at my local nursing home. But I still wanted to continue making a difference, even though I was stuck at home. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the pandemic most facilities, especially nursing homes, did not have virtual volunteering opportunities in place. So, I decided to make my own and started making video recordings of me playing my cello for my local hospital and nursing home. I created The Distanced Difference so that every patient, every senior citizen, every hospital and every nursing home in the country could have my service at their fingertips.
And that's not all. When this pandemic struck, I wanted to do my part. I felt as though I had a duty to do whatever I could for my community in these difficult times. When I heard about the shortage of PPE for essential workers, I knew what I had to do. I started hand-making and donating face shields to hospitals, nursing homes, grocery stores, restaurants, and other businesses so I could help protect those who risk their own health for ours. So far, nearly 100 essential workers are now protected! However, The Distanced Difference was created to vastly increase outreach to essential workers and volunteers across the nation so we can protect as many of our heroes on the front lines as we can.
I guess all that's left to say is the obvious: We go the distance. And that's what makes us different.
