Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers

Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers
Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers
NicknameKroc Center
Region served
United States
Parent organization
The Salvation Army
Websitekroccenter.org
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The Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers, or Kroc Centers, is a group of community centers run by the Salvation Army.[1][2]

The centres have been funded by Joan Kroc, the widow of McDonald's restaurants executive Ray Kroc.

Kroc Center background

In 1998, Joan Kroc donated $87 million (equivalent to $163 million in 2023) to the Salvation Army to build and endow the first Kroc Center in San Diego, California, on what was an abandoned grocery store and other empty land. The center opened in June 2002. Currently, it is home to the American Basketball Association's San Diego Wildcats.

Upon her death in 2003, Kroc bequeathed $1.5 billion (equivalent to $3 billion in 2023) to The Salvation Army solely for the purpose of establishing centers of opportunity, education, recreation and inspiration throughout the United States to be known as "Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers".[3][4][5]

The Kroc Center in San Francisco, California, broke ground in June 2006, and the Kroc Center in Atlanta, Georgia, formally known as The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Center: A Center for Worship and Education, broke ground in 2007. The San Francisco Kroc Center received $53 million (equivalent to $99 million in 2023).

In 2023, there are 25 Kroc Centers across 20 US states, as well as one in Puerto Rico.[6]

Kroc Center work

The centers work to reach their local community with services including sports, health education, music, youth groups, counselling, financial literacy classes, food distribution and emergency help.[7][8][9] Each center also holds at least one church service every week.[10]

Every year about five million people visit the Kroc Centers.[11]

References

  1. ^ Phillips, Patricia; Ricke-Kiely, Theresa (2014). "Supersizing Philanthropic Leadership: The Case of the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Center". The International Journal of Servant-Leadership. 10 (1). Gonzaga University: 177–191. doi:10.33972/ijsl.117. S2CID 255937149. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  2. ^ Hurd, Amy; Anderson, Denise M.; Mainieri, Tracy L. (2021). Kraus' Recreation and Leisure in Modern Society (12 ed.). Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-284-20503-9. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  3. ^ Kiser, Sabrina (2017). Merritt, John G.; Satterlee, Allen (eds.). Historical Dictionary of The Salvation Army (2 ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 328–329. ISBN 978-1-5381-0212-1. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  4. ^ Budrys, Grace (2013). How Nonprofits Work: Case Studies in Nonprofit Organizations. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-4422-2105-5. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  5. ^ Stern, Ken (2013). With Charity for All: Why Charities Are Failing and a Better Way to Give. New York: Anchor Books. pp. 145–147. ISBN 978-0307-74381-7. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  6. ^ Salvation Army/ Kroc Center website, Retrieved 2023-05-17
  7. ^ Give Pulse website
  8. ^ Chicago government website
  9. ^ Phoenix Queen Creek Sun Times website
  10. ^ Salvation Army/ Kroc Center website
  11. ^ Caring Magazine