“We were visiting bases…and a young soldier stood up and said… ‘I have more anxiety about going to a job interview than going back to Iraq,'” says Schultz. “…we have to do something.”

Howard and Sheri Schultz were guests on the SiriusXM radio show Making A Leader with hosts Pattie Sellers and Nina Easton to discuss their professional careers and success in business. They also go into details about the Schultz Family Foundation and the important work the Foundation is doing for youths and military veterans. IVMF’s Onward to Opportunity is one such organization that benefits from a partnership with the Foundation and utilizes the support to help over 20,000 military veterans and spouses so far with career preparation training.

Howard Schultz told the story about how the idea to help veterans came to him by speaking to former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

“Secretary Gates came to me and said, ‘I want to talk to you and Sheri about the challenge for post-9/11 military veterans coming home’… these people are coming home without a parade and a lack of understanding from the American people, because less than 1% of the American people basically have had any skin in the game…99% of the American people have not been directly involved with those who have served. I said to Sheri…I think there is an opportunity to create a second foundational focus.”

You can listen to the full interview here. The talk on Veterans begins around the 40-minute mark