Call of Duty Endowment to Help Veterans Find Jobs

RMN Digital | March 21, 2013 | Americas, Consumer, E-Governance, Games, Masses, Regions | No Comments

The Call of Duty Endowment announced Thursday $1,110,000 in grants to launch its new ‘chapterization’ model, a funding strategy whereby grants will be provided to organizations that have the ability to scale their operations by opening new, regional offices—or chapters—that offer employment services to veterans.

The Call of Duty Endowment’s announcement comes on the heels of new veterans’ unemployment numbers released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which found that the unemployment rate for the youngest veterans (aged 18-24) remained over 5 percent higher than for their nonveteran counterparts (20.4 percent and 15 percent, respectively).

While the annual report demonstrates a positive trend nationally for the overall veteran unemployment rate, there is much work to be done, especially for youngest veterans.

[ Also Read: Can Obama Jobs Plan Reduce Poverty in America? ]

“Since its inception, The Call of Duty Endowment has been focused on providing grants to organizations that have proven to be the most effective and efficient in finding jobs for veterans,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard and founder and co-chairman of the Call of Duty Endowment.

Earlier, highlighting the trend of interactive entertainment gaining a greater hold of audiences, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 game achieved the milestone of earning $1 billion in just 16 days, eclipsing the record set in 2009 by the feature film “Avatar,” which reached the $1 billion mark in 17 days. (Read: Game Beats Avatar Film to Earn $1 Billion in 16 Days)

Call of Duty Endowment

The Call of Duty Endowment will be making five initial grants in support of its chapterization strategy. These grants will be provided to: Atlanta, Georgia-based Hire Heroes USA; Denver, Colorado-based Veterans Green Jobs; Lanham, Maryland-based AMVETS; Huntsville, Alabama-based Still Serving Veterans; and the Washington, D.C.-based National Chamber Foundation.

The Call of Duty Endowment (CODE) is a non-profit, public benefit corporation conceived by Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. CODE seeks to help organizations that provide job placement and training services for veterans.