Call of Duty Endowment Provides Major Grant to the Wounded Warrior Project

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Call of Duty Endowment (CODE) announced today that it will donate $100,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) to establish a new Transition Training Academy (TTA) in the United States.  These academies help severely injured veterans explore Information Technology (IT) as a potential career field and to develop new skills with real-world applications.  

CODE is a non-profit, public benefit corporation, which was created by Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) in November 2009. The organization seeks to help veterans transitioning to civilian life find work and establish careers and to assist other organizations that provide job placement and training.  

"The TTA program offers an exciting and valuable learning experience for wounded warriors to develop new skills using everyday applications," said CODE advisory council member, BG James A. "Spider" Marks (USA-Ret.).  "We need to arm our retired service members with the tools to embark on a new path towards a successful and meaningful career."

Chris Roberts, Director of the TTA program, stressed the impact this grant will have on assisting wounded warriors: "With this generous gesture, the Call of Duty Endowment will allow us to expand our program to a fifth site and provide this training opportunity to more veterans across the country looking to find a post-military career path in the IT industry."  

Activision Blizzard, a worldwide online, PC and console video game publisher and publisher of the best-selling Call of Duty® video game franchise, created CODE with a commitment to donate and raise millions of dollars to help increase awareness of veterans' unemployment.  Recognizing that Call Of Duty is extremely popular among troops, the company chose to give back to veterans by using the proceeds from the latest game in the franchise, Infinity Ward's Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2 to fund the organization.  Released on November 10, 2009, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, has shattered box office and video game records becoming the biggest entertainment launch in history.

To help guide the endowment, Activision Blizzard's CEO, Robert Kotick, recruited an advisory board composed of respected veterans representing the various branches of the military.  The advisory council assists in identifying potential organizations that will receive grants from CODE and helps to raise awareness of the issue across the country.  Since its inception, CODE has already delivered grants to the Paralyzed Veterans of America, and to families of the victims at the Ft. Hood tragedy.  

About CODE:

The Call of Duty Endowment (CODE) is a non-profit, public benefit corporation created by Activision Blizzard.  The organization seeks to help soldiers transitioning to civilian life find work and establish careers and to assist organizations that provide job placement and training. For more information about CODE, please visit www.callofdutyendowment.org.

About Wounded Warrior Project:

The mission of the Wounded Warrior Project is to honor and empower wounded warriors.  Its purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public's aid for the needs of severely injured service members, to help severely injured men and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs.  To get involved and learn more, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project