All the way back in 2009, when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was still a fresh new thing, Activision Blizzard started the Call of Duty Endowment Program to fund programs that ensured veterans were able to land on their feet in good jobs after leaving the military. Now, almost 10 years later, the program has met its goal of “placing 50,000 veterans in meaningful employment” by 2019 early.

This 2019 goal was initially just for 25,000 jobs but was increased after the Call of Duty Endowment Program met that quota a couple of years ago. While the program was initially just US-only, it recently expanded to included the UK. According to Activision Blizzard, the Call of Duty Endowment Program has helped get veterans jobs at places like Apple, Amazon, Bank of America, Microsoft, Nike, SpaceX, and more.

In total, the Call of Duty Endowment Program has awarded $28 million in grants. That being said, Activision Blizzard does not plan on shuttering the program; in fact, they plan on continuing it through at least 2024, with the current goal for that date being 100,000 veteran job placements. Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, had the following to say about the program:

“The Call of Duty Endowment has exceeded expectations and continues to benefit the lives of veterans and their families, significantly giving back to those who sacrificed for others. With U.S. and U.K. veteran unemployment and underemployment challenges persisting, I am thrilled to advance our efforts with a new, ambitious goal of securing employment for 100,000 veterans by 2024.”

Dan Goldenberg, Executive Director of the Endowment Program, also explained why this initiative is so important and why it is such an effective program:

“Placing fifty thousand veterans in meaningful jobs is significant—that’s the equivalent of more than half the U.S. Army’s annual recruit class. By finding and funding world-class organizations and with the unwavering support of Activision Blizzard, we were able to reach our goal ahead of schedule.

Our approach is to marry common sense business practices with philanthropy, which enables us to place vets in jobs at about 1/6 the cost per placement of U.S. Department of Labor efforts. We are proud of, and share this achievement with, all of our grantees who have worked tirelessly towards our shared goal.”

The latest Call of Duty title, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, recently launched on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Posted: Oct 16, 2018 7:59 pm
Related Forum: Call of Duty Forum

Source: https://www.dualshockers.com/call-of-duty-endowment-program-passes-2019-goal/