14 DAY TRIAL // The Call of Duty Endowment, which is run by video game publisher Activision Blizzard, has donated 500,000 dollars to five groups that are aiming to bring veteran military personnel into civilian careers once their tours of duty end.
Amvets, Military to Medicine, Student Veterans of America, Veterans Green Jobs and the USO are the organizations that are getting money and will aim to make a dent in the 1 million military veterans that are currently living in the United States and do not have a job.
The problem has hit hardest the veterans that are between the ages of 18 and 24, with 21.9 percent of males and 15.3% of women currently out of work.
The initiative makes sense considering that most of the buyers for the Call of Duty military shooter franchise fall in the same age bracket.
Bobby Kotick, who is the chief executive officer of Activision Blizzard, has said, “It is a great honor to support these organizations that are training and placing our military men and women in 21st century careers.”
He added, “For those who give selflessly to defend our freedom, we must continue to increase the public's awareness of this problem, and we must work together with businesses around the country to find our heroes fulfilling and sustainable jobs.”
Activision created the Call of Duty Endowment, also known as CODE, in November 2009 and the initial pledge from the video game publisher was to donate 1 million dollars to unemployed veterans.
Call of Duty is one of the most successful video game franchises in the world, managing to launch the best-selling titles both in 2009 and 2010, with Modern Warfare 2 and with Black Ops.
Activision has already confirmed that it is planning to launch a new Call of Duty game this year, but the company has not said which developer is working on it or when the launch might come.