Kroc Center
Encyclopedia
A Kroc Center is one of many community centers run by the Salvation Army
.
CEO Ray Kroc
, donated $90 million to the Salvation Army
to build a comprehensive community center in San Diego, California. Her wish was to create a center, supported in part by the community, where children and families would be exposed to different people, activities and arts that would otherwise be beyond their reach. Completed in 2001, the center sits on 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) and offers an ice arena, gymnasium, three pools, rock climbing walls, a performing arts theatre, an internet-based library, computer lab, and a school of visual and performing arts.
When Joan Kroc died in October 2003, she left $1.5 billion - much of her estate - to The Salvation Army, by far the largest charitable gift ever given to the Army, and the largest single gift given to any charity at one time. The initial disbursements of this bequest began in January 2005. The gift had by then grown to $1.8 billion and was split evenly among the four Army Territories - Central, East, South and West. The money was designated to build a series of state-of-the-art Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers nationwide patterned after the San Diego center.
By the end of 2009, the Army operated six centers across the country in Ashland, OH; Atlanta, GA; Coeur d'Alene, ID; Omaha, NE; Salem, OR; and San Francisco, CA. Seven more centers followed in 2010 in Dayton, OH; Grand Rapids, MI; Green Bay, WI; Kerrville, TX; Philadelphia, PA; and Quincy, IL. In 2011 centers opened in Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Greenville, SC; Memphis, TN; Phoenix, AZ; St. Joseph County (South Bend), IN; and Honolulu, HI. Opening dates are to be determined for the final six sites in Augusta, GA; Biloxi, MS; Camden, NJ; Staten Island, NY; Puerto Rico and Norfolk, VA.
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
.
Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers
In 1998, Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald'sMcDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
CEO Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc
Raymond Albert "Ray" Kroc was an American fast food businessman who joined McDonald's in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a fortune during his lifetime...
, donated $90 million to the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
to build a comprehensive community center in San Diego, California. Her wish was to create a center, supported in part by the community, where children and families would be exposed to different people, activities and arts that would otherwise be beyond their reach. Completed in 2001, the center sits on 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) and offers an ice arena, gymnasium, three pools, rock climbing walls, a performing arts theatre, an internet-based library, computer lab, and a school of visual and performing arts.
When Joan Kroc died in October 2003, she left $1.5 billion - much of her estate - to The Salvation Army, by far the largest charitable gift ever given to the Army, and the largest single gift given to any charity at one time. The initial disbursements of this bequest began in January 2005. The gift had by then grown to $1.8 billion and was split evenly among the four Army Territories - Central, East, South and West. The money was designated to build a series of state-of-the-art Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers nationwide patterned after the San Diego center.
By the end of 2009, the Army operated six centers across the country in Ashland, OH; Atlanta, GA; Coeur d'Alene, ID; Omaha, NE; Salem, OR; and San Francisco, CA. Seven more centers followed in 2010 in Dayton, OH; Grand Rapids, MI; Green Bay, WI; Kerrville, TX; Philadelphia, PA; and Quincy, IL. In 2011 centers opened in Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Greenville, SC; Memphis, TN; Phoenix, AZ; St. Joseph County (South Bend), IN; and Honolulu, HI. Opening dates are to be determined for the final six sites in Augusta, GA; Biloxi, MS; Camden, NJ; Staten Island, NY; Puerto Rico and Norfolk, VA.
Opened
- San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
(2002)- Note this center is from a separate Kroc gift
- San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
- Atlanta, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
- Coeur d'Alene, IdahoCoeur d'Alene, IdahoCoeur d'Alene is the largest city and county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. Coeur d'Alene has the second largest metropolitan area in the state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census the population of Coeur...
- Ashland, OhioAshland, OhioAshland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Ashland County. The population was 21,249 at the 2000 census. It is the center of the Ashland Micropolitan Statistical Area...
- Kerrville, TexasKerrville, TexasKerrville is a city in Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population was 20,425 at the 2000 census. In 2009, the population was 22,826...
- ugusta, GA http://www.krocaugusta.org/
Planned to open in 2010
- Dayton, OH
- Grand Rapids, MI
- Green Bay, WI
- Philadelphia, PA
- Quincy, IL
Planned to open in 2011
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Greenville, SC
- Memphis, TN
- Phoenix, AZ
- Honolulu, HI
- Future sites
- Augusta, GA http://www.krocaugusta.org/
- Biloxi, MS
- Camden, NJ
- Staten Island, NY
- Puerto Rico
- Norfolk, VA
- South Bend, IN
External links
- San Diego Kroc Center Web Site
- Omaha Kroc Center Web Site
- Atlanta Kroc Center Web Site
- The Kroc Center in Coeur d'Alene Web Site
- Memphis Kroc Center Web Site
- Grand Rapids Kroc Center Web Site
- Salvation Army Web Site
- Salvation Army Mid-Willamette Valley Kroc Center - Salem, OR
- Camden, NJ Kroc Center Web Site
- Green Bay, WI Kroc Center Web Site
- Kerrville, TX Kroc Center Web Site