People & Culture News Trends: Veterans Day, Native American Heritage Month and More 

A look at the people and culture news from PR Newswire in November and December that you might have missed.

By Matt Harp | Published Jan. 5, 2024

Throughout November and December, PR Newswire distributed more than 2,100 people and culture-related press releases. Some of this news included headlines tied to designated months and events celebrating diverse groups of people and cultures. While tracking the news, our team noticed the following recurring trends: Veterans Day, Native American Heritage Month, women in business, and GivingTuesday.

Let’s take a closer look at these trends and additional newsworthy stories from November and December.

Popular People & Culture Releases

These were some of the most-viewed people and culture-related releases over the past two months:

• Grindr released its annual report diving into 2023 user behavior + trends - including the app's most popular profile tags to users' favorite songs, films, and pop culture moments.
• Beauty brand Dove officially announced it's back in the Big Game with a :30-second TV commercial that will premiere in the first quarter of football's biggest night. Its message will be about promoting body confidence in girls to keep them playing the sports they love.
• Planet Fitness' philanthropic initiative, the Judgement Free Generation®, aims to empower the next generation to promote kindness and contribute to a more inclusive, judgement-free planet. The program raises money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), including more than $1 million in 2023 and over $9 million since 2016.
• Gran Coramino® Tequila, an ultra-premium tequila brand founded by entrepreneur Kevin Hart, has started a giveback program supporting Black and Latinx entrepreneurs across the U.S. with $10,000 grants as well as learning opportunities. 
  

People & Culture News Trends

These are a few of the trends we noticed among people and culture-related press releases in November and December, with a few examples of each.

Veterans Day

November and December saw many releases cross the wire that were related to Veterans Day and celebrated our brave service members. This holiday started as a day to reflect upon the heroism of those who died in our country's service and was originally called Armistice Day. It fell on Nov. 11 because that is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. However, in 1954, the holiday was changed to "Veterans Day" to account for all veterans, in all wars.

In all, more than 250 releases from November and December were related to veterans and nearly 100 highlighted the many different ways companies commemorated and honored the service of American veterans for Veterans Day. Some examples include:

• In celebration of Veterans Day, ScrubaDub Auto Wash Centers announced its tradition of honoring the dedication and sacrifice of veterans and active service members by offering complimentary express car washes to military personnel at its 20+ convenient car wash locations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine.
• In honor of Veterans Day every year, VetsinTech recognizes companies that have made a positive impact on veterans. Its annual fundraising gala supports veterans through tech-based programs and opportunities in education, employment, and entrepreneurship.
• Regal celebrated Veterans Day by donating $1 from each popcorn sale to the Gary Sinise Foundation, whose mission is to help veterans, first responders, and their families through unique programs designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communities.

Native American Heritage Month

Every November during Native American Heritage Month, our country recognizes the invaluable contributions of Native peoples and honors the hundreds of tribal nations who continue exercising their inherent sovereignty as vital members of the overlapping system of governments in the United States.

More than nine million Native Americans are living in the United States, representing hundreds of tribal nations with diverse languages, cultures, and traditions.

Here are a few examples spotlighting this initiative in 2023:

• The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians announced it would donate $1 million in honor of Native American Heritage Month and to facilitate greater impacts for underserved communities. Grants of $100,000 each will be granted to ten organizations that serve Native American and Inland Empire communities in California.
• Comcast announced that it awarded $25,000, provided 100 laptops, and installed a Lift Zone to support the Chickahominy Indian Tribe with free, high-speed WiFi to help its tribal citizens with digital literacy and skills training.
• Travel Oregon announced $3.6 million in grants to fund accessible and inclusive tourism projects across the state, including Oregon's nine federally recognized Native tribes. The grants continue the agency's commitment to equity and to enhancing local economies, creating jobs, and strengthening communities across the state.
• Relevance Ventures and Skoden Ventures proudly announced the launch of the Native American Capital and Investment Alliance (NACIA), an organization that will herald a new era for Native Americans by helping bridge the gap between Native American founders, their businesses, and providers of equity and debt capital.

Women in Business

"Women in business" refers to women who hold positions, particularly leadership ones, in the fields of commerce, business, and entrepreneurship. It advocates for their increased participation in business. According to a 2015 study by Babson College, businesses that have at least one woman in an executive seat tend to have much higher valuations than companies with all men in C-level positions. 

Over 400 releases from November and December were related to women's interest topics. During that period, nearly three dozen releases contained news specifically on "women in business."

Here are a few you might have missed:

• Brave Healer Productions announced the release of We Lead: Building Connection, Community and Collaboration for Women in Business, a book filled with exceptional advice from members of the Leading Ladies Project.
• Televerde was named to #GirlsClub's 2023 Top 25 Companies Where Women Want to Work List. This distinction highlights Televerde's success in fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace and reinforces the company's role as a leader in empowering women in the business world.
• Carson Group released its 2023 State of Women in Wealth Management Report, which provides insights into the challenges and opportunities women encounter in the financial services industry.
• Tanya Ragan, President of Wildcat Management, was recognized as a C-suite honoree for the third annual DFW Women Leading Real Estate (WLRE) Award, which promotes the need for diversity in commercial real estate (CRE) businesses, especially relating to the hiring and promotion of women.

GivingTuesday

November and December saw many releases about GivingTuesday cross the wire. GivingTuesday, celebrated the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is touted as a "global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world." After Black Friday, one of the biggest spending holidays of the year, GivingTuesday, or the National Day of Giving, encourages families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world to come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.

GivingTuesday-related news accounted for close to 100 releases during November and December. Here are some to spotlight:

• The Salvation Army, our nation's largest private provider of social services, called on donors to help their neighbors in need on GivingTuesday. The organization, which has a presence in nearly every ZIP code in the country, relies on donations from the public to support life-changing programs for nearly 24 million people in the United States each year.
• In honor of GivingTuesday, The Marco's Pizza Foundation announced the continuation of an initiative launched earlier in 2023 that encourages customers to "top off" their meals in support of various community organizations and to help fight childhood hunger.
• Marine Toys for Tots announced it would be supporting families and children over Christmas through more than 860 chapters across all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.

Looking Ahead

With International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan. 27) and Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 15) coming up in January, and Presidents Day (Feb. 19) and Black History Month in February, there will be plenty of upcoming news in the people and culture space to watch for.

We’ll continue tracking the headlines to bring you the top stories!

About the Author

Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Matt Harp has been working at PR Newswire as a Customer Content Specialist since 2017. In his free time, he enjoys sports and exploring the outdoors as much as possible.