Founded in the early 2000s, Mint Hill, North Carolina-based Messer Financial Group offers a variety of insurance products through its team of high-performing independent agents. The company additionally works to support nonprofit organizations that build community. At the holiday season, Messer Financial Group agents and staff “adopt” families in need, contributing to brightening a time of year when many people feel overwhelmed by isolation and loneliness.
Experts in mental health issues note that the winter holidays can be the roughest time of year for anyone coping with grief or emotional or financial stress. Particularly acute for people who experience seasonal affective disorder, anxiety and depression are common at this time. Today’s social media landscape offers little respite: For people experiencing the greatest need, the cheerful images of family get-togethers often only exacerbate feelings of separation from others.
Community outreach groups all around the country “adopt” individuals and families in need during the holidays, bringing warmth, healthy food, holiday music, community craft-making activities, and much-needed personal connections.
Nonprofit groups such as The Salvation Army and United Way encourage families, religious organizations, and other groups to become “angels” for people in need, particularly at the holidays. Grateful recipients of such outreach have noted that the time and emotional boost provided by volunteers have helped them give their children something to look forward to and allowed them to celebrate the holidays with dignity and a more positive outlook.
