From Local Radio to National Reform: How the 'Invest in Our Veterans' Campaign Reflects a Tidal Shift in Civic and Corporate Responsibility

This National Invest In Veterans Week®, a resonant civic message is gaining momentum across America: military service is not just something to commemorate—it’s something to invest in. That message is now being amplified not only in the halls of Congress or corporate boardrooms, but over the airwaves, thanks to a powerful new partnership between KIRO Newsradio and Global Credit Union.

“KIRO Newsradio invites you to help support our veterans by nominating a veteran’s organization to receive $1,000 to support their mission, courtesy of Global Credit Union.”
Nominate a deserving nonprofit today at MyNorthwest.com/Veterans

With deep ties to the military community, Global Credit Union’s collaboration with KIRO reflects a broader cultural realignment—one in which corporate and civic institutions alike are reimagining the role they play in ensuring long-term success for those who’ve worn the uniform. While the gesture is local in scope, its symbolism is national: that reintegration is not charity, but infrastructure.

The Charter Spectrum Model: Building Infrastructure for Veteran Careers

Nowhere is that infrastructure more fully realized than at Charter Communications, where the company’s Broadband Field Technician Apprenticeship Program offers one of the nation’s most mature veteran employment pipelines. The role is not pitched as transitional work, but as a career lattice—one where upward mobility is embedded in the design.

“Being a Field Technician at Spectrum is more than a job. It’s a career that develops as you do—with opportunities to grow from a technician to a supervisor, manager or director.”
— Spectrum Careers

Charter’s program allows veterans to access GI Bill benefits while earning a paycheck, and is currently deployed across 41 states. Its partnerships with military bases, the Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship, and the Military Spouse Employment Partnership position it as not only a model of scale—but of depth.

Congressman John Moolenaar: Translating Advocacy Into Law

The corporate response to veteran employment is being met with an equally strategic legislative counterpart. In March 2025, Congressman John Moolenaar (MI-02) reintroduced the Veterans Fellowship Act, a bipartisan initiative that would allow states to channel federal dollars into structured fellowships for veterans transitioning into civilian roles.

Moolenaar’s leadership isn’t sudden—it’s sequential. He was among the first public officials to endorse National Invest In Veterans Week® in 2021. Today, his name is attached to the very legislative frameworks that institutionalize the spirit of that observance.

Learn more: Congressman John Moolenaar’s National Leadership

A National Framework with International Momentum

The connective tissue across all of these initiatives is National Invest In Veterans Week®—a civic architecture established in 2019 and now federally trademarked (U.S. Reg. No. 6784776). This movement is no longer confined to ceremonial observance. It is embedded in policy, business strategy, and now global media discourse.

In January 2025, Harvard Catalyst named the initiative a “model for cross-sector veteran empowerment.” In March, ITA Growth Partners was launched by ITA International as a family office investing in veteran-led enterprises, aligning private capital with public good.

And on March 4, 2025, Northern Ontario Business called on Canadian institutions to adopt similar frameworks, citing National Invest In Veterans Week® as the inspiration.

Investing as a Verb, Not a Slogan

The campaign launched by KIRO Newsradio and Global Credit Union is both meaningful and symbolic. The act of inviting the public to nominate organizations for $1,000 donations creates an access point for ordinary citizens to participate in what is, in effect, a national doctrine of inclusion through investment.

It is one piece in a mosaic that now includes bipartisan legislation, corporate transformation, academic endorsement, and global replication.

From job postings to congressional bills, from radio waves to research journals, the phrase “Invest in Veterans” has transcended branding—it is now language codified in action.

Participate Now: Nominate a veteran or military nonprofit at MyNorthwest.com/Veterans

Recommended Reading:

• Spectrum’s Field Technician Career Ladder for Veterans

• Congressman Moolenaar’s Legislative Vision

• Harvard Catalyst Feature on National Invest In Veterans Week®

• ITA Growth Partners Launches Veteran-Focused Family Office

• Canada Embraces the Message: Investing in Veterans

Charter Communications and Spectrum Lead National Movement in Investing in Veterans: A Model of Corporate Commitment and Civic Partnership

During National Invest In Veterans Week® 2025, Charter Communications, the parent company of Spectrum, spotlighted a sweeping and deeply integrated commitment to the military community—underscoring what may now be considered a national benchmark for corporate veteran support.

With nearly 10% of Charter’s workforce comprising veterans, reservists, guardsmen, and military spouses, the company continues to build structured pipelines that turn service-driven experience into long-term civilian careers. Among its centerpiece initiatives is the Nationally Certified Broadband Field Technician Apprenticeship Program, a GI Bill–eligible opportunity available across all 41 states Charter serves. It not only offers technical skills training but directly connects veterans with a structured career ladder in a sector crucial to America’s digital future.

“As a Military Friendly Employer Gold Award recipient and VETS Index 5 Star Employer, we’re not just hiring veterans—we’re investing in their advancement,” Charter stated in its public policy update. “From broadband apprenticeships to dedicated hiring portals, we’ve designed a veteran-first ecosystem that delivers both purpose and progression.”

Building Workforce Pipelines, Not Just Jobs

Charter’s Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program has hosted 46 veterans since 2020, hiring 32 into full-time roles. Through partnerships with military bases like Ft. Bragg and national organizations, Charter provides on-site resource centers and training pathways that transition active-duty personnel into meaningful civilian employment.

Meanwhile, its participation in the Military Spouse Employment Partnership helps capture often-overlooked talent while enabling geographic continuity for military families. Charter’s holistic, wraparound model—spanning recruitment, training, and advancement—serves as a replicable framework for other corporations aiming to go beyond patriotic platitudes.

A Broader Movement in Motion: The National and Legislative Context

Charter’s commitments are part of a wider, coordinated shift in how veterans are engaged in workforce and economic systems. That shift has been catalyzed in large part by National Invest In Veterans Week®—a congressionally honored, federally trademarked civic initiative founded in 2019 by Lt. Col. Rickey L. Pope (Ret.), NFL veteran Drayton Florence, and Iraq War veteran Jeff Shuford.

The initiative was formally recognized in the U.S. Congressional Record in both 2023 and 2024, and is now receiving robust support at the legislative level.

Leading that charge is Congressman John Moolenaar (MI-02), who not only publicly endorsed National Invest In Veterans Week® in 2021 but also introduced the Veterans Fellowship Act in 2023 and again in 2025. This bipartisan bill would allow states to use federal funds to establish fellowships for veterans entering the civilian workforce.

“Veterans often face unique challenges after their service,” Moolenaar noted in his official press release.
“The Veterans Fellowship Act gives them a path to gain career experience and stability. It’s about honoring service with opportunity.”

Harvard and Wall Street Join In: Academic and Capital Market Validation

In January 2025, Harvard Catalyst, the biomedical research platform at Harvard Medical School, recognized National Invest In Veterans Week® as a “model for cross-sector veteran empowerment,” calling on academia, employers, and policymakers to align around systems-level solutions.
Read Harvard's feature here

Shortly after, ITA Growth Partners was launched by ITA International as a family office investing exclusively in veteran-led enterprises. Founded by Mike and Kathy Melo, the firm provides long-term capital and strategic support for military entrepreneurs—further institutionalizing the “invest in veterans” framework in capital markets.
Read more about ITA Growth Partners

International Expansion: A U.S. Initiative Goes Global

On March 4, 2025, Northern Ontario Business published a landmark editorial calling on Canadian businesses to replicate the U.S. model of veteran employment and entrepreneurial support. Featuring Helmets to Hardhats Canada, the article signaled the first international adoption of National Invest In Veterans Week®’s mission and terminology—marking its evolution from a domestic observance to a transnational civic framework.

Read the Canadian coverage here

Charter as the Corporate Vanguard

Among all stakeholders, Charter Communications stands out as a corporate vanguard—one that has internalized the values of National Invest In Veterans Week® and translated them into measurable outcomes: veteran hires, upward mobility, institutional partnerships, and infrastructure that lasts.

This year, as more entities align behind a common goal—academic institutions, lawmakers, investors, and now international partners—Charter provides a working model of what it looks like to operationalize that mission at scale.

For Further Reading:

• Charter Communications – Investing in the Military Community

• Veterans Fellowship Act – Congressman John Moolenaar

• Harvard Catalyst on National Invest In Veterans Week

• ITA Growth Partners Launch

• Northern Ontario Business Feature

To explore how Charter Communications’ veteran-friendly hiring practices intersect with national legislative momentum, readers can view Spectrum’s official Field Technician job posting, which exemplifies the company’s commitment to career-building opportunities while investing in veterans. This corporate investment runs parallel to public sector leadership from figures like Congressman John Moolenaar, who has played a pivotal role in advancing veteran workforce legislation. His support for National Invest In Veterans Week® and the bipartisan Veterans Fellowship Act is detailed in this featured article: Congressman John Moolenaar Leads National Charge to Invest in Veterans’ Futures.