DraftKings Inc has expanded on its Tech for Heroes initiative – retraining former military personnel for civilian careers – with a big funding drive allied to this week’s Thanksgiving celebrations. For every point scored during the professional football games this holiday, it is donating $1,000 to veterans’ nonprofit organizations.
In all, it is anticipated that games will raise at least $100,000 for veterans-serving charities, adding to the more than $1m the company has already raised supporting veterans.
Co-Founder Matt Kalish explained: “DraftKings is proud to be an American-made success story. We do not take for granted the opportunities afforded to us because of the sacrifices of our veterans, and we understand our responsibility to invest in our communities and the veterans who made this possible.
“For Thanksgiving, we are so proud to build on our commitment to American veterans by supporting five nonprofits that we believe make critical contributions in our communities and the lives of our heroes.”
The five charities that DraftKings is partnering with are: New England Center and Home for Veterans; Operation Chillout; Patton Veterans Project; Veterans Village; and Vets in Tech.
Each charity will receive a minimum donation of $20,000 this Thanksgiving – $100,000 across all five organizations – with the potential for more money depending on the results of the day’s three featured games.
Tech for Heroes, only in its second year running, has trained over 150 veterans or spouses in tech skills with nine courses in five cities: Austin, Boston, Columbus (Ohio), Las Vegas, and San Francisco. In addition to learning coding and presentation skills, program participants develop a peer-to-peer network and earn a resume-ready certificate.
