Activision Blizzard is donating $1 million tomorrow to set up a foundation to help veterans find employment. The company has announced that its Call of Duty Endowment (CODE) will support groups that assist veterans with their careers.

Unemployment may have hit double digits in the nation last week, but for veterans, finding a job has always had its challenges. The unemployment rate among people who served in the military since 2001 was 11.6 percent in October. Both government and private studies show that the percentage of unemployed veterans has been historically higher than the percentage among civilians. According to a DOD survey conducted last year, eighteen percent of veterans who left the military in the past one to three years were unemployed. Of those veterans who managed to find work, 25 percent earned less than $21,840 per year.

“The joblessness rate that [veterans] should have should be far less than the national average, not more,” said Activision Blizzard chief executive Bobby Kotick. “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?”

The new foundation is one of several private and government-backed programs addressing the mental and economic challenges that veterans and their families face. Activision Blizzard regularly donates video games and gaming consoles to the military through the USO, and the donations have helped the company identify and hire veterans who are interested in the gaming industry. The foundation will make its first donation of $125,000 to the Paralyzed Veterans of America to help open a vocational rehabilitation center.

Source: Washington Post