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