Be the Difference is a bold effort to encourage ordinary people to take tactful, positive action when stressful situations happen in public settings. It’s a Family Resources campaign that promotes the many ways in which each of us can support the parents and kids who need us the most. It’s our campaign to end child abuse in Western Pennsylvania.

Be the Difference recognizes that parenting is a tough job and that, at any given time, all parents need some type of support. At Family Resources, we believe that children should be safe, in families, to grow, flourish, and succeed. We believe our cause requires every citizen to act—when children are not safe, when they see that parents are overwhelmed by life's stressors, and when they recognize that a parent or family is isolated.

We’re calling on everyone to perform simple but courageous acts that will keep children safe. They can take many forms: You can be a big help with a small act of kindness by reaching out to a stressed parent shopping with a child in a grocery store. Be a friend to parents in your community, by helping spread the Be the Difference message and reaching  parents who want to set up neighborhood support groups. Or be the one to ask for help, or refer someone to the help they need. You can encourage parents who need advice and feel isolated or overwhelmed by the responsibilities of raising children to call the Parenting Warmline.

We have a vision for our region, because we see the realities of stressed and lonely families every day. Won't you join us and do your part to Be the Difference?

Children Learn What they Live

If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn to appreciate.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves. 

—Dorothy Law Nolte (1924-2005)

Since a California newspaper first published it in 1954, this little poem has been posted on refrigerators around the world.