Activision Looks To Aid Unemployed Military Veterans Through Facebook

Activision Blizzard said Thursday that it is using the Memorial Day holiday to bring more awareness to out-of-work military veterans through the Call of Duty Endowment. The Call of Duty publisher is launching a five-day campaign to support the Hire Heroes USA organization. For every "Like" that the Call of Duty Endowment receives on its Facebook page, the grant will increase by $1. The campaign will end at 11:59 p.m. PDT on Memorial Day (May 31), or when the grant amount reaches $50,000. As of early afternoon Thursday, over 2,700 people have "liked" the page. HHUSA focuses on career placement for recently returning military veterans through training programs and workshops. The organization enlists professionals that can help aid veterans during the transition to a modern day workforce. The grant from the Call of Duty Endowment will go towards these efforts. Brian Stann, a Silver Star veteran and UFC fighter, is the executive director for HHUSA. "People need to wake up and recognize what's happening to our vets when they leave the service," he said, adding that the Call of Duty Endowment will give his organization the opportunity to help more veterans. The Labor Department recently said that one in three veterans under 24 years old are unemployed, and the unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans has risen to over 14 percent. Activision Blizzard revealed the non-profit Call of Duty Endowment in November 2009, when the publisher said it would donate $1 million military veterans through the new program.