USO-Metro’s First Annual Video Gaming Tournament

Written by Call of Duty Endowment on June 17, 2011 – 10:28 am -

USO Vets playing Call of Duty
Our vets getting their game on!

In addition to trying to find jobs for veterans, we’re committed to honoring our service members and we want to help keep their spirits high when they return home from action.   With that in mind, we were thrilled to support a recent event driven by the USO of Metropolitan Washington, which was a unique way for service members to get together and show off their skills playing Activision’s Call of Duty®: Black Ops!

The event took place last Saturday, when the USO-Metro hosted their first ever video game tournament held at the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Community Center in Virginia.   The event featured dozens of veterans and current service members squaring off in multi-player teams competing against one another in Activision’s Call of Duty®: Black Ops. Teams representing military bases across the region, including: Andrews AFB, Fort Belvoir, JBAB, Quantico, Bethesda Naval participated in the tournament.   Lunch and snacks were provided for attendees as well as prizes for the winning teams and goody bags for everyone, which is where the Endowment was able to pitch in.

In coordinating the event, USO-metro had the assistance of the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC), which is a non-profit, public-private partnership dedicated to improving government through the application of information technology.  ACT-IAC provides a trusted forum where government and industry professionals can exchange information and collaborate on technology issues in the public sector.

The winning team was Naval Communication Security Material Systems.  Team Members: Derek Despard, Matthew Middleton, Neil Teves, Michael Hubbard, Curtis Poole.

Congrats to our sharp-shooting members!!


Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in code | No Comments »


CODE and Activision Make an Educational Investment in Veterans…

Written by Call of Duty Endowment on May 11, 2010 – 11:16 am -

Today the Call of Duty Endowment and Activision are announcing the creation of a new scholarship program to assist those veterans pursuing a career in videogame development at Austin Community College (ACC) and Madison Area Technical College (MATC).  The program will assist veterans at these schools with the costs of software, transportation, and other educational needs, while the GI bill covers tuition costs for U.S. veterans at most schools.  ACC and MATC were chosen by CODE and Activision because of their gaming and illustration programs, as well as the high number of veterans’ enrolled at each school and the participation of military veterans in the relevant course work.  

The scholarships will help to fulfill CODE’s mission of ensuring that veterans are provided a clear path to new careers after their military service is complete.  Recognizing that our nation’s veterans are some of the brightest and hardest working individuals our nation has to offer, the Call of Duty Endowment and Activision wanted to encourage and help create a path for more of these men and women to enter the field of video game production.  

Applications are now being accepted at both schools for students looking to pursue the scholarship, with the initial scholarship recipients to be announced in August.  The Call of Duty Endowment and Activision will track the development of the scholarship winners through the CODE website and other mediums as they progress throughout the program.  In total, CODE will donate $100,000 to fund the scholarship programs, which will exist for at least five years at each school.

To apply or learn more about  the scholarships at MATC, click here.

To apply or learn more about the scholarships at ACC,  click here.

Those individuals that have put their lives on the line to protect our country deserve to be rewarded with 21st century careers.  These scholarships will help them get there!


Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in code | No Comments »