'Call of Duty' Gamers Raise Money for Veteran Jobs in #CODNation Challenge

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Call of Duty Black Ops 4 (Activision)

"Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" is officially released on October 12 and the Call of Duty Endowment is holding a fundraiser called CODNation Challenge live on Twitch from October 11-13.

Hashtagged #TheRace, the CODNation Challenge is a multi-day, 24-hour race that will be streamed online from developer Treyarch’s studio in Santa Monica. Top gamers lik GoldGloveTV, Jericho, Hutch and VernNotice will take on "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4." 

Watch #TheRace at Twitch.com/CallofDuty.

The Call of Duty Endowment is a non-profit which identifies and funds best-in-class veteran organizations that get unemployed veterans back to work. Each year thins event reaches millions of viewers and raises hundreds of thousands in donations, with over $250,000 donated in 2017. Since Activision covers the organization's overhead, every cent raised goes to veterans job programs.

RELATED: How the Call of Duty Endowment Wants to Help Veterans Find a Job 

Military.com spent some time with Dan last spring when we traveled to Germany and Kuwait on the Call of Duty USO Tour. He's a Navy veteran himself and he's committed to supporting organizations that get results for job-seeking veterans.

He took some time this week to answer our questions abut the Endowment and the CODNation Challenge.

Dan Goldenberg was game for some EOD training when we visited the team at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.

How does the Call of Duty Endowment work?

In partnership with Deloitte, we identify the highest performing veteran serving non-profits in the US and UK, fund them and help them expand their ability to serve more veterans in finding high quality employment by holding them accountable to results.

Make no mistake, our grantees are the best non-profits out there for helping vets get great jobs. We also convey to employers the unique value that veterans bring to their organizations. Activision Blizzard funds all our operating costs, so every cent we raise goes directly to veteran employment grants.

How will the #CODNATION Challenge support the Call of Duty Endowment? What do you hope to achieve from this event?

This event—it's our six year running it, albeit by its new name—will expose more than a million Call of Duty gamers to our cause: helping veterans find high quality employment. At the same time, it gives them a chance to DO something about it by contributing to the effort—all while having a blast with Black Ops 4 and our streamers!

We hope to raise at least $100,000 in donations. Since every $505 funds the placement of a vet into a job, that's almost 200 vets who would be helped if we hit the goal—it's like putting a company size unit back to work! Regardless, divide what we raise by $505, and that's how many vets will be helped by this effort.

And how important is the Call of Duty community when it comes to supporting the cause?

Pivotal. Through the years, the amazing support we've received from the Call of Duty community has enabled the placement of more than 47,000 veterans into good jobs—that's more than a quarter of the Marine Corps! For example, the Call of Duty community supports these efforts through the purchase of in-game digital items, buying special game packages from our partners like GameStop and Costco, and events like the #CODNATION Challenge.

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