Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Call of Duty Endowment announced its new “Hire. Honor.” campaign. The aim is to get veterans back to work, helping them adjust to civilian life after they serve in the military.
Gen. James Mattis, decorated American veteran and former United States Secretary of Defense, kicked off the campaign in a call-to-action Public Service Video which can be viewed here. In addition to urging viewers to honor veterans by hiring veterans, Mattis asserts that the vast majority of veterans who have experienced combat emerge stronger and are even greater assets to our society and the workforce.
The Call of Duty Endowment is a non-profit organization co-founded by Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, the maker of Call of Duty games such as this year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
The campaign encompasses a variety of programs that support the endowment, with 100% of Activision proceeds going directly to finding jobs for veterans. The Call of Duty Endowment has funded the placement of more than 63,000 veterans into well-paying, high-quality jobs and expects to place 100,000 veterans in meaningful jobs by 2024.
June 5th: The AI Audit in NYC
Join us next week in NYC to engage with top executive leaders, delving into strategies for auditing AI models to ensure fairness, optimal performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Secure your attendance for this exclusive invite-only event.
“It is my great honor to partner with Gens. Mattis and Jones in honoring our veterans by hiring our veterans,” said Kotick in a statement.
Above: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Starting Monday (which is Veterans Day in the U.S.), Call of Duty: Mobile will feature an endowment-themed content pack entitled the Call of Duty Endowment Honor Pack which includes a new skin for in-game items.
Players can also participate by watching some of their favorite streamers play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on Twitch this Veterans Day. Look for streamers with CODE clan tags to see the Call of Duty Endowment streams. Fans who watch for one hour will receive 30 minutes of 2XP. Fans who watch for two hours will also receive a Call of Duty Endowment Calling Card.
Game streamer Dr Disrespect and Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson are teaming up with Omaze to raise funds for the Call of Duty Endowment. To bring attention to this cause, they are offering the chance for one lucky fan to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with Dr Disrespect and Thompson, which will be livestreamed on Twitch.
Above: Call of Duty: Mobile
The Endowment’s 2018 cost to place a veteran was $522 — providing meaningful employment at a sixth of the cost of U.S. Department of Labor efforts. Nationally, American veterans make an average salary of $49,945, while those placed through the Endowment’s grantees, with their focus on high-quality placements, made an average of $60,750, or 21% more.
“Veterans don’t need or want our pity or hero worship,” said Dan Goldenberg, executive director of the Call of Duty Endowment, in a statement. “They are tremendous assets to our society who just need a shot to compete on a level playing field for high-quality jobs. We are more determined than ever to equip veterans to succeed in the civilian job market while reminding employers why it’s in their interest to hire loyal, dedicated, disciplined and hard-working employees.”
