The Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers


The Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers, or Kroc Centers, are a group of community centers run by the Salvation Army.

Kroc Center background

Upon her death in 2003, Joan Kroc, the widow of McDonald's restaurants executive Ray Kroc, bequeathed $1.5 billion 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".
According to the trust, a Kroc Center is to be highly visible and easily accessible, to be within reach of various economic groups with particular outreach to underserved families, to have high quality service within world-class facilities, and to include programs involving education, fitness, arts and worship. These centers are to be owned and operated by The Salvation Army.
Prior to her death, $87 million was donated to build and endow the first Kroc Center in San Diego, California on what was a grocery store that was abandoned in the early 1990s and empty land that had been largely unused for a long time. The money was donated in 1998 and the center opened in June 2002. Currently, it is home to the San Diego Wildcats of the American Basketball Association's current incarnation. Additional Kroc Centers are being established for the benefit of communities. The Kroc Center in Atlanta, formally known as The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Center, a South Atlanta Center for Worship and Education broke ground in 2007 and is expected to open early July 2008. The Kroc Center in San Francisco, California broke ground in June 2006 and is expected to open in July 2008. The San Francisco Kroc Center received $53 million. Memphis, Tennessee is preparing for a Kroc Center to be established on the Memphis Fairgrounds.

Kroc Center Atlanta

The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Center South Atlanta : A Center for Worship and Education is the next center after San Diego. It will be constructed next to the Southern Territory's Evangeline Booth College. This center will be State-of-the-Art. It will feature a 400-seat Chapel/Auditorium. Arts Focus Rooms, a Dance studio, Computer Labs, a Library, Day Centers, Community Room with Industrial Kitchen, Family Oriented Programs, A Gymnasium with a Cafe, A well-staged Game room, Fitness Center, and Track. This Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center will service Metro Atlanta.

Other Kroc Centers

The following cities, broken up by Salvation Army territories, have built or have plans to build a Kroc center.
Southern Territory: Atlanta, Georgia; Augusta, Georgia; Biloxi, Mississippi; Greenville, South Carolina; Kerrville, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; Norfolk, Virginia
Greenville, SC has both a Kroc Center, and a Kroc Tennis Center, built in 2015.
Western Territory: Coeur D'Alene, Idaho; Kapolei, Hawaii; Long Beach, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Salem, Oregon; San Francisco, California
Eastern Territory: Camden, New Jersey; Massena, New York; Staten Island, New York; Boston, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Ashland, Ohio; and Dayton, Ohio
Central Territory: Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Omaha, Nebraska; Quincy, Illinois; St. Joseph County, Indiana