In support of Military Appreciation Month, Activision Blizzard has announced a $1 million donation to its Call of Duty Endowment charity. The Endowment is responsible for gathering funds to help military veterans transition to civilian life, which they do by placing them in well-paying jobs or supporting them in their enterprise endeavors. Activision Blizzard, with its immensely popular game, “Call of Duty,” is now taking further steps to show its support for the noble cause by launching an in-game campaign inside Warzone 2’s DMZ mode.
“Loot for Good” Event
As a part of its “Loot for Good” event, Activision will donate $1 to the Call of Duty Endowment for every match where a player extracts worth $30,000 of in-game cash, up to $10 per player, and a total of $1 million. The event is running from May 1-7, and a leaderboard showing the results is available on the “Loot for Good” website, incentivizing players to come back and play more. To participate, all players need to do is extract $30,000 in cash or more in their Warzone games, and they can earn rewards while providing for a good cause. Additionally, Activision and USAA are partnering in this campaign to drive more donations to the endowment.
War Hippies’ Partnership
To promote the “Loot for Good” event further, Activision partnered with country music group War Hippies, and put out a new version of their song, “The Hangman,” with modified lyrics. The band’s two members, Scooter Brown and Donnie Reis, are US military veterans, and their dulcet tones framed with the campaign’s objectives, make for a moving and inspiring experience. Activision Blizzard put out a press release for anybody who wishes to listen to the new version of the song.
Call of Duty Endowment’s Mission
Founded in 2009, the Call of Duty Endowment program has been making a significant difference in supporting military veterans to assimilate back into civilian life. According to its executive director, Dan Goldenberg, the charity has supported over 118,000 former service members to find work since its inception. Despite the impressive figure, their fight is far from over, and female veterans face more significant challenges than their male counterparts in finding work after serving in the armed forces. Female veterans make up only 7% of the 16,000 placed in new careers after service by the Endowment, which reiterates its importance and confirms its continued support for female veterans.
Empowering Female Veterans
The Call of Duty Endowment is keen to bring attention to the challenges faced by female veterans and is actively seeking to enable their contributions to the citizen society. Even though female veterans tend to be more educated than male counterparts, they find it much more challenging to find gainful employment, and are underrepresented in the workforce. Women veterans are twice as likely to be unemployed six months after exiting the military, compared to their male counterparts. Activision Blizzard wants to highlight the existing job placement solutions that have helped 16,000 women find new jobs after military service as they continue to work towards empowering female veterans.
Conclusion
For many people, playing video games is a passive experience. However, Activision Blizzard leverages their platform to encourage players to support an important cause. For Warzone players, the “Loot for Good” event is not only a way to earn some in-game rewards but also a chance to donate to an organization that is helping veterans and their families transition back to civilian life. With such a massive donation to the Call of Duty Endowment, Activision Blizzard sets an example for other gaming studios to follow, diverting their robust communities’ attention to a righteous cause beyond games.
