Did you know that Los Angeles is the home of U.S.VETS, the country's largest provider of services to homeless and at-risk military veterans? We didn't either, but an article in the Los Angeles Business Journal led us to do some research.
As noted in the LABJ article, the Santa Monica-based Call of Duty Endowment, a charitable foundation launched by video-game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc., has awarded $500,000 to U.S.VETS to further its important work at 11 locations throughout the country. It also awarded $300,000 to the Salvation Army's HAVEN and $100,000 to the Weingart Center for the Homeless in support of grants designed to assist veterans.The Call of Duty Endowment plans to make $4 million in grants directed to the employment of veterans this year. For more details click here.
Activision Blizzard Inc., which funds the Call of Duty Endowment with a portion of its profits, is the world's largest and most profitable independent interactive entertainment publishing company in the world. Its products include such video games as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, which have been enormously popular with military personnel who find that the games relieve stress and boredom. As noted in this article, video games are also being used in therapy with veterans.
Check out the profile of U.S.VETS on this website under "Organizations." Stay tuned for profiles of the other organizations mentioned in this blog.
