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The Call of Duty Endowment teamed up with Pilot Company for a Veterans Day campaign. It raised a record-breaking $1.75 million for veterans during the three-week event.
The Pilot Company celebrated Veterans Day by helping to raise money for The Call of Duty Endowment. This organization helps veterans find good jobs after serving their time in the military. Pilot and their guests raised a record-breaking $1.75 million for the nonprofit organization during a three-week campaign that encouraged guests to round up their change for a good cause. It worked. The campaign raised triple the company’s original 2021 goal of $500,000.
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick co-created The Call of Duty Endowment in November 2009. The nonprofit is dedicated to getting veterans into high-quality jobs after their service. As a part of its giving-back commitment, Pilot Company has partnered with the Call of Duty Endowment since 2019 to support the nonprofit’s goal to help 100,000 veterans secure post-service employment by 2024. The $1.75 million that the Pilot Company raised will help more than 3,000 former service members on their current job hunts.
“For Veterans Day, it was important that we do something special to not only thank veterans but also support them,” says Shameek Konar, CEO of Pilot Company. “We are overwhelmed by the generosity of our guests and the hard work of our team members to raise this record-setting amount for the Call of Duty Endowment that will help thousands of veterans find their next career.”
Activision Blizzard and Pilot Company are committed to helping military service members and veterans
Bobby Kotick’s Activision Blizzard fully supports the Call of Duty Endowment, which takes its name from one of the company’s most popular video game franchises. Activision Blizzard has generously donated more than $25 million to the Call of Duty Endowment to date.
Konar also says that the Pilot Company is “proud to support military service members and their families every day with a year-round discount at our stores.” Pilot Company Founder Jim Haslam II is a veteran.
On Veterans Day, Pilot Company thanked all active-duty service members and veterans with a free $10 meal through their myRewards Plus app. Military members who verify their status in the myRewards Plus app get special savings, including a year-round 10% discount on food and beverages at the company’s participating Pilot Flying J Travel Centers and One9 Fuel Network locations.
Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and founded in 1958, Pilot Company has expanded to more than 800 retail and fueling locations across North America. It is the third-largest tanker fleet in North America and supplies more than 12 billion gallons of fuel per year.
A little pocket change adds up to a lot of money for veterans’ services
From Oct. 25 through Nov. 15, guests were invited to join the Call of Duty Endowment cause by rounding up their change at the Pilot Company’s more than 750 participating U.S. travel centers, and 100% of the proceeds went directly to the Call of Duty Endowment, and then Pilot Company matched $100,000 of the donations.
To promote the Call of Duty Endowment campaign and honor veterans, Pilot featured the campaign on the company’s racecar, the Pilot Flying J No. 1 Chevrolet, during two Xfinity Series races. The vehicle was outfitted with a camouflage collage of pictures of veterans who have benefited from the Call of Duty Endowment and the Pilot Company team members who are veterans. Race fans could catch a glimpse of the particular car on Oct. 30 at the Martinsville Speedway and the Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 6.
How Bobby Kotick created The Call of Duty Endowment
A conversation between Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick and former VA Secretary Jim Nicholson inspired Kotick to co-found The Call of Duty Endowment after he learned that 50,000 of the 150,000 veterans returning to civilian life couldn’t find employment in 2009. “The endowment’s mission is to place veterans into high-quality careers,” says a spokesperson for the nonprofit.
Three years later, the organization grew to include distinguished military officials, including General James L. Jones, the Call of Duty Endowment co-chairman. By 2017, the Endowment had expanded to include veterans in the United Kingdom. “These efforts are focused on providing employment support to veterans of Britain’s armed forces with the goal of finding the high-quality jobs that fully leverage their experience, skills, education, and character,” added the spokesperson.
