Call of Duty goes beyond video gaming by helping vets find careers
The Call of Duty video game which transports gamers to various military war zones, is literally helping veterans with careers through the Call of Duty Endowment.
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick wanted to do more for veterans rather than just build monuments and name public parks in their honor, so he cofounded the endowment over 10 years ago to provide tangible resources, like help with finding jobs.
Dan Goldenberg. Veteran and executive director of the Call of Duty Endowment said the endowment has funded the placement of more than 9,000 veterans in jobs locally,
"We've raised millions in the game Call of Duty for this cause," said Goldenberg. Across the US and the UK, the endowment has helped over 110,000 vets.
"Seven years ago, we added these in-game items called 'Call of Duty Endowment Pacts' where one hundred percent of the proceeds Activision receives goes directly to putting vets in jobs for the endowment," said Goldenberg.
From these in-game items alone, more than $27 million has been raised for the endowment.
Rocio Palmero is a veteran who received career training through the endowment. She served in the Navy for 14 years, and then found herself in what she described as a dead-end job.
"I thought, I am better than this, I think I can do more than this," so she received training through the endowment and is now a program coordinator for Woman Vets on Point.
"Their investment in me was not just in me and helping to provide a better life for my son. The investment in me is an investment in the veteran community, specifically for the overlooked and underserved woman veterans," said Palermo.
