KENTUCKY
TEXAS
SOUTH
CAROLINA
ARKANSAS
WEST
VIRGINIA
KANSAS
SOUTH
DAKOTA
ILLINOIS
WISCONSIN
OHIO
TENNESSEE
OKLAHOMA
ALABAMA
INDIANA
NE W
YORK
MINNESOTA
NEBRASKA
PENNSYLVANIA
IOWA
MAINE
MISSOURI
MISSISSIPPI
MICHIGAN
NORTH
CAROLINA
NORTH
DAKOTA
LOUISIANA
GEORGIA
FLORIDA
VIRGINIA
So
So
So
out
o
So
So
he
rn
r
r
n
rn
T
ritory
ritory
ritory
err
r
Central
Central
Centrall
T
T
T
T
T
erritory
y
y
erritory
erritory
erritory
erritory
T
T
T
T
T
T
Eastern
e
T
T
T
T
Territory
erritory
erritory
erritor
erritor
NEW
HAMPSHIRE
MASSACHUSETTS
CONNECTICUT
RHODE ISLAND
VERMONT
NEW JERSEY
DELAWARE
M
MI
OHIO
A
MA
M
RH
RHOD
R
R
R
R
R
R
RH
RHO
CAR
C
GIA
GEOR
Omaha
Quincy
Memphis
Kerrville
Biloxi
Atlanta
Augusta
Greenville
Guayama
Norfolk
Boston
Camden
Philadelphia
Green Bay
Chicago
Grand Rapids
South
Bend
Dayton
Ashland
9
The War Cry | FEBRUARY 2015
A Conversation
............
a larger economic and social and relational impact that
has a dollar value. People come to facilities built on what
was previously discarded land--none were built on prime
land. People are now coming into these communities
where there are jobs, relationships are being built and
health impacted. All this changes the dynamics of cost
in that neighborhood. These have dollar value. When the
study is completed we hope to prove that the impact is go-
ing to be significant in terms of economic impact annu-
ally, as all the measures we apply are brought together.
WC:
What hurdles are being faced?
CS:
We will fail if we feel compelled to bring Kroc
centers down to something we understand and make
it manageable in our organizational structure. We
will succeed if we use this as an opportunity to leverage
what we are learning by raising the bar all across
The Salvation Army for our interactions within the
community.
WC:
What is the future?
CS:
We're committed to these centers for the long term.
We're seizing initiatives that make an impact, includ-
ing health-related ones. For example, Kroc Fit Kids is
an anti-obesity intervention and prevention effort. Plans
call for these to be sustainable facilities that have flex-
ible programming that engage and meet the needs in
each location, making for dynamic centers for people's
spiritual, social, emotional, physical, educational and
recreational needs. We are also committed to coming
alongside young people--like that young man I men-
tioned--who started out as members and be there for
them as they grow up over 10, 15, 20 years. We want
them to find that spark to move on to greater things
than they ever would have before. That was Joan
Kroc's vision. It's the Army's vision. We want people
to not just manage to survive where they are, but to
thrive, to move onward, to move forward, to have op-
portunities that we can't even dream about right now.
The future is as creative as people want to make it.
PUERTO RICO
&
VIRGIN ISLANDS
T
he fi rst Kroc Center, opened
in San Diego, California in 2002,
was built on the site of an aban-
doned grocery store. Since Joan Kroc's
initial support of that center, The Salva-
tion Army has built 25 more, carrying
out her purpose to establish centers
of opportunity, education, recreation
and inspiration throughout the United
States. The last center, in Camden New
Jersey, opened last fall. It represents
one of the most signifi cant and com-
prehensive private investments ever
made for community revitalization and
social services in South Jersey.
(Map not to scale)
Kroc
Centers
07-09_ConversationSeiler_WCFeb15_Werk3.indd 9
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