While the insurance industry is known for its philanthropic endeavours to combat issues like climate change and gender or race inequality, mental health is also an important topic to raise awareness for and spearhead initiatives to better the lives of Canadians.
“Insurance has a moral and ethical obligation to take the high road and help those who are in need, especially younger citizens who are struggling,” said George Rappos, an agent at Desjardins.
“It’s in our best interest to build a sustainable society where we can help young people become productive members of society, especially since they will eventually become consumers of our products and services.”
In an interview with Insurance Business, Rappos, who is a youth mental health champion with Insuring Our Future, spoke about how he has tapped into his insurance network to support this grassroots initiative and why backing mental health causes can help attract and retain talent to the industry.
Creating an atmosphere that destigmatizes mental health awareness and treatment can create a comfortable space for younger talent seeking professional careers.
“I see that the young people in our society are far more cognizant of the issues facing us as a society and are more open on talking about these topics and helping to solve them,” Rappos said.
“Whether it’s the climate, inequality or mental health struggles in youth, addressing these concerns actively is very important to them.”
Professionals within the insurance industry who are actively trying to connect with the younger generations, particularly millennials and Gen Z, understand that thoughtful social action and aligning values is crucial.
Rappos revealed that “my son is 19 and he’s already expressing interest in this field, and its because of the opportunity to tap into these causes.”
It may seem a little self-interested to pursue causes for either societal sustainability or to attract next gen talent, but Rappos does not see this as a bad thing, as long as it is driven by passionate moral and ethical obligations.
“These are our consumers of tomorrow,” he said.
“We need we need to make sure we take care of this and nip it in the but early.”
For Rappos, supporting youth mental health and creating access to free treatment and assessments springs from his personal experiences as a father to two teenagers.
“I've seen my kids grow up in living in an environment where there's high stress and high anxiety,” he said.
This was only exacerbated by the early years of the pandemic.
Rappos was mobilized to find ways to support his local Newmarket, Ontario, Canadian Mental Health Association Chapter (CMHA), especially its MOBYSS program, a bus that travels to various different high schools and offers free therapy services to all students.
He wanted to find a different way to give back to Canadian youth while supporting CMHA in the process, which culminated in his Insuring Our Future initiative.
“It’s not specific to any insurance company, but a real grassroots initiatives,” Rappos said.
“I challenge my colleagues and peers from across the country to make donations — last year we raised over $56,000 in our first year of the campaign.”
While capacity issues have led to this year’s campaign to just Ontario, that has not stopped Rappos from tapping into his industry-wide resources to help make a change.
The most significant hurdle is getting the message out there to insurance professionals, whether that be through social media messaging or leadership in various organizations.
“We learned a lot in our first year doing this campaign,” Rappos said.
“Now we have more assets from the CMHA, including a small team, to get the message out there so we can have a similarly successful year.”
Donations can be made to either a specific CMHA chapter in Ontario or to the organization, which will then designate the funds accordingly.
