Activision donates $1 million to military vets
Publisher to help stem high unemployment rate amongst veterans
Activision Blizzard is to donate USD 1 million to military veterans via a new Call of Duty Endowment (CODE) scheme.
With the endowment, the publisher intends to address the high unemployment rate of 11.6 percent among ex military employees. Nationwide, the unemployment rate is 10.2 per cent, according to October figures from the Bureau of Labour Statistics.
"The joblessness rate that [veterans] should have should be far less than the national average, not more," Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick told The Washington Post.
"How do you expect people to actually join the military if, when they leave the military, they can't integrate back into the free market they're supposed to be protecting?"
Activision will initially donate USD 125,000, which will go to the Paralysed Veterans of America and towards the opening of a vocational rehabilitation centre.
The publisher already regularly donates games and consoles to the military through the USO.