Call of Duty supports Still Serving Veterans with a significant annual grant
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A surprising partnership between a popular video game and local non-profit Still Serving Veterans has helped the organization provide several services for over a decade.
'It just takes 1 or 2 people to believe in you,' Ethan Fitzgerald, marketing director at Still Serving Veterans, said. 'And how cool is it that the video game Call of Duty, you know, is supporting a humble nonprofit in Huntsville, Alabama, which is also very synonymous with supporting veterans.'
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The Call of Duty Endowment, or CODE, provides grants to organizations helping veterans find high-quality jobs, and SSV is one of only 8 U.S. non-profits that receive a grant. Still Serving Veterans gets $1 million from CODE annually that goes directly to its Veteran Career Transition program.
'That Call of Duty money is just a lifesaver,' Fitzgerald said. 'It's quite literally changed the lives of veterans every single year.'
SSV's Veteran Career Transition program helps vets with all things job search: from resume building and interview preparation to salary negotiations and check-ins months into the new role. The non-profit said there has been significant success.
'That funding allows us to hire veterans to help veterans,' Fitzgerald said. 'If you think about counseling appointments and stuff like that, there's usually a charge for that. You know, we're basically, you know, taking that off the table for the veteran. They don't have to pay for anything.'
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CODE's website announces achievements from more than 150,000 veteran job placements to date, with a 90% retention rate within the first six months of a veteran starting a new job.
While SSV is very grateful for the funding dedicated to its Veteran Career Transition Program, the non-profit notes some of its other programs that are in need of such financial support: its VA Benefits and Resource programs.
'Unfortunately, the endowment doesn't cover that,' Fitzgerald said. 'So we always are raising money to try to support those other two programs, looking for grants, looking for sponsors and and the people who donate 5 to $10 a month. Those grassroots donors that keep our other programs alive are super important.'
For more information on how to donate, visit their website.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Business Upturn
11 hours ago
- Business Upturn
Global Sports Medicine leader Smith+Nephew to sponsor select players competing at Wimbledon, highlighting advanced solutions for joint repair
By GlobeNewswire Published on June 29, 2025, 16:00 IST Smith+Nephew (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN), the global medical technology company, announces it will once again support select players during high profile matches at The Championships, Wimbledon in 2025. The world's oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament serves as a perfect backdrop to showcase Smith+Nephew's purpose of 'Life Unlimited' – making a difference in patients' lives through the excellence of a diverse Sports Medicine product portfolio and the application of new technologies. Tennis is a high-impact sport that places great stress on various areas of the body – especially joints – often resulting in injury. Some of the latest technologies and solutions from Smith+Nephew for joint repair include: REGENETEN◊ Bioinductive Implant: With more than 150,000 procedures1 completed globally since its introduction in 2014, the REGENETEN Bioinductive Implant has had a transformative impact amongst those having surgery for rotator cuff tears; demonstrating lower re-tear rates than reported compared to conventional techniques.2-6 Backed by level one clinical evidence,2 the collagen-based implant supports the body's natural healing response to facilitate the formation of new tendon-like tissue to biologically augment the existing tendon and change the course of rotator cuff tear progression.7-12 CARTIHEAL◊ AGILI-C◊ Cartilage Repair Implant: Derived from a naturally occurring calcium carbonate known as aragonite, the CARTIHEAL Implant is a biphasic scaffold for cartilage repair and subchondral bone restoration.13-15 Shown to deliver clinically meaningful post-operative improvements in pain, function and quality of life,* the CARTIHEAL Implant is the only device approved for the treatment of knee cartilage and osteochondral defects in patients with or without mild to moderate osteoarthritis (KL 0-3).13,16 Q-FIX◊ KNOTLESS All-Suture Anchor: Building on the long-standing success and performance of the Q-FIX Family for best-in-class anchor fixation strength,**,17-21 the new Q-FIX KNOTLESS All-Suture Anchor raises the bar for all-suture anchor technology. With proprietary features and capabilities, the Q-FIX KNOTLESS All-Suture Anchor aims to set a new benchmark for soft tissue security†,22 and offer surgeons a new option for soft tissue-to-bone fixation indications across multiple joint spaces. 'Our inaugural turn sponsoring select players during The Championships, Wimbledon in 2024 was a tremendous success supporting athletes from across the globe – including Jasmine Paolini all the way to the Ladies Final,' said Christie van Geffen, SVP Global Sports Medicine Marketing for Smith+Nephew. 'We were able to uniquely feature the Smith+Nephew brand along with our leading Sports Medicine technology portfolio – designed to help weekend warriors and world-class athletes get back to competing and doing what they love.' If you would like to learn more about Smith+Nephew's leading Sports Medicine technology portfolio – including the CARTIHEAL AGILI-C Cartilage Repair Implant, the REGENETEN Bioinductive Implant and the Q-FIX KNOTLESS All-Suture Anchor – please visit here. – ends – Media Enquiries Dave Snyder +1 (978) 749-1440 Smith+Nephew [email protected] *Over a 2 and 4 year follow up **As compared to competitive devices in fixation/pull-out benchtop testing †As compared to the competitive device in cyclic benchtop testing References Smith+Nephew. Internal Data. Ruiz Ibán MÁ, García Navlet M, Moros Marco S, et al. Augmentation of a Transosseous-Equivalent Repair in Posterosuperior Nonacute Rotator Cuff Tears With a Bioinductive Collagen Implant Decreases the Retear Rate at One Year: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic & Related Surgery. 2023:1-14. Bushnell BD, Connor PM, Harris HW, et al. Retear rates and clinical outcomes at 1 year after repair of full-thickness rotator cuff tears augmented with a bioinductive collagen implant: a prospective multicenter study. JSES international. 2021;5(2):228. Hein J, Reilly JM, Chae J, Maerz T, Anderson K. Retear Rates After Arthroscopic Single-Row, Double Row, and Suture Bridge Rotator Cuff Repair at a Minimum of 1 Year of Imaging Follow-up: A Systematic Review. Arthroscopy. 2015;31(11):2274-2281. Camacho-Chacon JA, Cuenca-Espierrez J, Roda-Rojo V, et al. Bioinductive collagen implants facilitate tendon regeneration in rotator cuff tears. J Exp Orthop. 2022;9(1):53. Smith + Nephew overview of the outcomes associated with the standard of care for the surgical treatment of rotator cuff tears. Internal Report EO/SPM/REGENETEN/005/v1. Bokor DJ, Sonnabend D, Deady L, et al. Evidence of healing of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears following arthroscopic augmentation with a collagen implant: a 2-year MRI follow-up. Muscles, Ligaments Tendons J. 2016;6(1):16-25. Schlegel TF, Abrams JS, Bushnell BD, Brock JL, Ho CP. Radiologic and clinical evaluation of a bioabsorbable collagen implant to treat partial-thickness tears: a prospective multicenter study. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2018 27(2):242-251. Van Kampen C, Arnoczky S, Parks P, et al. Tissue-engineered augmentation of a rotator cuff tendon using a reconstituted collagen scaffold: a histological evaluation in sheep. Muscles Ligaments Tendons J. 2013;3(3):229-235. Arnoczky SP, Bishai SK, Schofield B, et al. Histologic Evaluation of Biopsy Specimens Obtained After Rotator Cuff Repair Augmented With a Highly Porous Collagen Implant. Arthroscopy. 2017;33(2):278-283 Bokor DJ, Sonnabend DH, Deady L, et al. Healing of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears following arthroscopic augmentation with a highly porous collagen implant: a 5-year clinical and MRI follow-up. Muscles, Ligaments Tendons J. 2019;9(3):338-347. McElvany MD, McGoldrick E, Gee AO, Neradilek MB, Matsen FA, 3rd. Rotator cuff repair: published evidence on factors associated with repair integrity and clinical outcome. Am J Sports Med. 2015;43(2):491-500. Altschuler N, Zaslav KR, Di Matteo B, et al. Aragonite-Based Scaffold Versus Microfracture and Debridement for the Treatment of Knee Chondral and Osteochondral Lesions: Results of a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial. Am J Sports Med. 2023;51(4):957-967. doi:10.1177/03635465231151252 Kon E, Di Matteo B, Verdonk P, et al. Aragonite-Based Scaffold for the Treatment of Joint Surface Lesions in Mild to Moderate Osteoarthritic Knees: Results of a 2-Year Multicenter Prospective Study. Am J Sports Med. 2021;49(3):588-598. Kon E, Filardo G, Shani J, et al. Osteochondral regeneration with a novel aragonite-hyaluronate biphasic scaffold: up to 12-month follow-up study in a goat model. J Orthop Surg Res. 2015;10:81. Conte P, Anzillotti G, Crawford DC, et al. Differential analysis of the impact of lesions' location on clinical and radiological outcomes after the implantation of a novel aragonite-based scaffold to treat knee cartilage defects. Int Orthop. 2024;48(12):3117-3126 Douglass NP, et al. Arthroscopy. 2017;33(5):977-985 e975. Ergun S, et al. Arthroscopy. 2020; 2(3):e263-e275. Smith+Nephew 2023. Internal Report. 10090792- Revision B. ArthroCare Corporation 2017. Internal Report. P/N 49190-03 Rev. B. Smith+Nephew 2024. Internal Report. 10144423 Rev B. Smith and Nephew 10144423 Rev B About Smith+Nephew Smith+Nephew is a portfolio medical technology business focused on the repair, regeneration and replacement of soft and hard tissue. We exist to restore people's bodies and their self-belief by using technology to take the limits off living. We call this purpose 'Life Unlimited'. Our 17,000 employees deliver this mission every day, making a difference to patients' lives through the excellence of our product portfolio, and the invention and application of new technologies across our three global business units of Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine & ENT and Advanced Wound Management. Founded in Hull, UK, in 1856, we now operate in around 100 countries, and generated annual sales of $5.8 billion in 2024. Smith+Nephew is a constituent of the FTSE100 (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN). The terms 'Group' and 'Smith+Nephew' are used to refer to Smith & Nephew plc and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context requires otherwise. For more information about Smith+Nephew, please visit and follow us on X, LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook. Forward-looking Statements This document may contain forward-looking statements that may or may not prove accurate. For example, statements regarding expected revenue growth and trading profit margins, market trends and our product pipeline are forward-looking statements. Phrases such as 'aim', 'plan', 'intend', 'anticipate', 'well-placed', 'believe', 'estimate', 'expect', 'target', 'consider' and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is expressed or implied by the statements. For Smith+Nephew, these factors include: conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, economic and financial conditions in the markets we serve, especially those affecting healthcare providers, payers and customers; price levels for established and innovative medical devices; developments in medical technology; regulatory approvals, reimbursement decisions or other government actions; product defects or recalls or other problems with quality management systems or failure to comply with related regulations; litigation relating to patent or other claims; legal and financial compliance risks and related investigative, remedial or enforcement actions; disruption to our supply chain or operations or those of our suppliers; competition for qualified personnel; strategic actions, including acquisitions and disposals, our success in performing due diligence, valuing and integrating acquired businesses; disruption that may result from transactions or other changes we make in our business plans or organisation to adapt to market developments; relationships with healthcare professionals; reliance on information technology and cybersecurity; disruptions due to natural disasters, weather and climate change related events; changes in customer and other stakeholder sustainability expectations; changes in taxation regulations; effects of foreign exchange volatility; and numerous other matters that affect us or our markets, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or reputational nature. Please refer to the documents that Smith+Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith+Nephew's most recent annual report on Form 20-F, which is available on the SEC's website at www. for a discussion of certain of these factors. Any forward-looking statement is based on information available to Smith+Nephew as of the date of the statement. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Smith+Nephew are qualified by this caution. Smith+Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in circumstances or in Smith+Nephew's expectations. ◊ Trademark of Smith+Nephew. Certain marks registered in US Patent and Trademark Office. Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. 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Business Insider
17 hours ago
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Chase Sapphire, Walmart, Starbucks: Talking with BI's Katie Notopoulos about her recent hot takes
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