Contribute to a cure
There is a common psychological barrier that holds people back from donating to good causes, The Donor Efficacy Paradox.
This is the idea that a small donation will not have much of an effect, so it doesn’t seem worthwhile.
Even though we know that anything is better than nothing, the idea of not having an impact holds people back from giving what they can. We know $1 is better than $0, but it feels almost logical to think, ‘What good can this do, it’s not worth it.
This is one of the reasons MUNCH was designed to switch between causes in an agile manner. When you bring together a whole community, it becomes possible to see the impact, how the power of the many quickly adds up to a momentous effect. Whatever contribution you have, you become part of something that is having an impact.
This is why we sought to identify causes that could have a specific and tangible impact on single-issue topics. We want to help causes meet thresholds, deadlines, or milestones that they perhaps otherwise wouldn’t without the MUNCH community.
One such cause that MUNCH can have a huge positive influence on is the Yellow Brick Road Project and their quest for a cure. This is a cause that works on a rare genetic mutation that many will never experience, or even hear about, but devastated the lives and families of those affected.
If selected by the MUNCH community, our donations will help continue funding this research to not just help people affected by this disease, but also offer the possibility of eradicating it altogether.
Who are the Yellow Brick Road Foundation?
The Yellow Brick Road Project is a charitable foundation with a mission to fund research to identify, understand, treat, and ultimately cure those impacted by HNRNPH2 mutations.
Their work aims to identify more individuals with HNRNPH2 mutations, connect families impacted by HNRNPH2 in order to contribute to the understanding of the disorder, raising awareness of HNRNPH2 mutations in the general public and scientific communities, and by funding research into HNRNPH2 mutations.
Learn more in their video here.
YBRP is a non-profit charitable organization with EIN 83–4191901 501(c)(3) status.
What is HNRNPH2?
HNRNPH2 is a particular gene in humans that lives on the X-chromosome. It belongs to the subfamily of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins, referred to as ‘hnRNPs’.
These hnRNPs are RNA binding proteins that bond with heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA). The resulting proteins are linked with pre-mRNAs in the nucleus and appear to influence processing and other aspects of metabolism and transport.
Rare genetic mutations in this gene can result in developmental delay, intellectual disability, hypotonia, and seizures, among other characteristics.
How can the MUNCH community help?
With any rare gene mutations, access to specialist care and expert research is not available to everyone. It takes a lot of work and resources to give the children affected by this rare disorder proper diagnosis and treatment.
Donations from the MUNCH community would be used to:
- to fund research to identify, understand, treat, and ultimately cure those impacted by HNRNPH2 mutations;
- to fund initiatives to raise awareness and identify more individuals with HNRNPH2 mutations; and
- to connect families impacted by HNRNPH2 in order to contribute to the understanding of the disorder.
Contribute to the cure
Yellow Brick Road currently has an agreement with Andlit Therapeutics to fund research into HNRNPH2 mutations and potential treatments.
This is a two-year research project with a total cost for the 2-year project of $420,000. They have so far been able to model the mutation in the lab which makes studying and testing much easier, without the need for clinical trials in children.
The Yellow Brick Road has a very specific funding goal. To continue this research project, they need to raise $100,000 before July 2021 or this research will be discontinued.
Without continual research, this research will risk going to waste, but by continuing the project it may be possible to isolate and eradicate the mutation entirely.
Whilst we can’t predict volume, we are confident the MUNCH community could easily reach this goal and play a major part in eradicating a severe and preventable form of human suffering.
Hear from the Yellow Brick Road
Trish from the Yellow Brick Road recorded a short video to introduce the cause and the condition to the MUNCH condition and explain a little more about what our partnership would mean to the cause:
Due to the rarity of the condition, the cause supported by the Yellow Brick Road gives treatment to people that would otherwise struggle to get diagnosed. The contributions from the MUNCH community would also help take major steps forward on the quest for a cure so we have a chance to make a huge impact on peoples’ lives.
If you would like to support Yellow Brick Road’s cause, you can do by casting your vote for them in our governance portal.
