Kroc Center Grand Opening Draws Crowd of 9,000

The Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center of Augusta, GA swung open the doors on August 6 and embraced the public after seven years of planning and developing the 100,000-square-foot center.
Over 9,000 guests visited throughout the day and night, munching on hotdogs and celebrating the Center’s opening. First-arrivers were entertained with a performance by the Salvation Army Band in the impressive Franklynn Hall Arts and Worship Center. Augusta Green Jackets team members signed autographs for a long line of eagerly awaiting fans. Guests were even offered free massages!
The day ended with a rockin’ performance by local band Cowboy Mouth and an impressive fireworks show timed to traditional Salvation Army Brass Band music. By the first full day of operation, 1,004 memberships were sold representing 2,374 members!
“Our Grand Opening far exceeded my expectations. After planning for so long and after our team had put so much work and heart into this project since its beginning, it was an amazing feeling and a beautiful sight to behold. It was fun, it was filled with laughter, learning and depth and with over 9,000 guests coming onto the campus that day, my heart was blessed. I was reminded over and over again of this wonderful gift from Joan Kroc and the blessing the Lord has bestowed upon the Greater Augusta Area because of that gift”, said Captain Todd Mason, Kroc Center and Area Administrator.
The massive structure which sits on 17 acres in historic Harrisburg boasts a spectacular pool and waterslide, gymnasiums and fitness centers, recreational rooms for kids and adults, an amphitheater, and a banquet hall.
In keeping with the mission of The Salvation Army, The Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center provides facilities, programs and services that encourage positive life-changing experiences for children and adults, strengthen families, and enrich the lives of seniors.

Click here to learn more about the Salvation Army Kroc Centers nationwide.

Country Crooner Josh Kelley Supports a Hunger-Free Summer with a Musical Boost

While on tour for his newly released album, Georgia Clay, country artist Josh Kelley visited the Salvation Army Kroc Center in Omaha, NE on Monday. Following a special musical performance, the children enjoyed a morning full of sports, crafts, and lunch with the acclaimed musician.

His stop at the Kroc Center is one of several visits to food banks and summer food program sites across the country- a joint effort with the ConAgra Foods Foundation and Feeding America. The partnership is an effort to raise awareness about the issue of child hunger in the United States.

When school lets out for the summer and free and reduced-price school lunch programs become unavailable, millions of children in the United States are without food. The Hunger-Free Summer Program was started to ensure children have enough to eat during the summer by expanding summer meal programs to more children in more places. Their goal this summer is to serve an additional one million meals and feed 10,000 more children through unique and innovative community-based programs.

Visit www.HungerFreeSummerTour.org to learn more about the program and the 23 food banks that received Hunger-Free Summer grants.
For more information on the Salvation Army Kroc Centers please visit www.salvationarmyusa.org.

First Patrons Visit New Salvation Army Kroc Center in Augusta

Some couldn’t wait to get on the water slide. Others couldn’t wait to hit the basketball court. Others headed towards classes in weight lifting, step, cardio-combat, spinning, yoga, tai chi, Pilates, low-impact workouts and Zumba dance. These are just a few of the options hosted at The Salvation Army’s brand new Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community [...]

Get Your Golden Ticket

Who hasn’t wished for Charlie’s infectious excitement when he finds a coveted golden ticket in the film favorite “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”?
Starting this July 2 weekend, 5 lucky people will get to live the dream as The Salvation Army of Augusta Kroc Center is distributing five “Golden Tickets” of their own.nThe prize may not be a chocolate factory tour with singing oompa-loompas, BUT winners will get a behind the scenes tour of the Kroc Center, plus a three month membership!
If you live in the Augusta, Georgia area, look in your July Supersaver coupon package that comes in the mail to see if you’ve won a Golden Ticket. Lucky recipients should call the Augusta Kroc Center at (706) 922-0170 to claim your membership and schedule a tour.
Good luck!

PS: The Augusta Kroc Center is holding their Grand Opening weekend August 6. Get more info about all the opportunities this Center will offer at www.krocaugusta.org, or find them on Facebook (@Kroc Center of Augusta) and Twitter (@RJKroc).

TODAY: Salvation Army of Omaha to Turn Sandbags into Moneybags

Tom Becka of KFAB will broadcast his 4-7pm (CST) radio show live from Loft 610 in Midtown Crossing on Monday (June 27) as a fundraiser for Salvation Army flood relief. The restaurant is located at 220 S. 31st Ave, Omaha, Nebraska.

The public is invited to stop by and help fill sandbags with donations for The Salvation Army’s work to help flood victims in the metro Omaha/Council Bluffs area or to listen to KFAB for details on how to donate. The goal is to fill 200 sandbags or “moneybags” with money that day. Of every dollar donated to the fund, 100% goes to the flood relief operation.

Becka’s live on-location show will feature calls from listeners as well as interviews with Salvation Army emergency disaster services representatives and Divisional Commander Major Paul Smith.

“The Salvation Army is often the last to leave the scene of a disaster and becomes involved in long-term recovery even after the threat is past,” said Smith.

Salvation Army Red Kettles Not Just for the Holidays

The Salvation Army’s Red Kettles, usually associated with bell ringing and the holidays, are making their summer debut at more than 140 sites in Omaha and surrounding communities (including Bellevue, Carter Lake, Elkhorn, LaVista, Papillion and Ralston).

Among the many places where the countertop red kettles can be found are all locations for Hy-Vee, American National Bank, Blimpie’s, Fantasy’s, Little King, Security National Bank, Starbuck’s, Wheatfield’s and Cubby’s in the Old Market. For more locations where you can donate, go online to www.givesalvationarmy.org. Donations to the kettles will be used 100 percent for flood relief in Omaha‘s metro area.

Cleanup Kits Needed
Hy-Vee has joined with Action News 3, Journal Broadcast Radio and The Salvation Army in an on-going campaign to provide clean-up kit supplies to flood victims. The public is invited to donate new supplies for the kits. Supplies needed include buckets, rubber gloves, disinfectant, brushes, brooms, mops, bottled water and safety goggles.

Donations may be dropped off at any Omaha Fire Station, Action News 3, 10714 Mockingbird Drive; Journal Broadcast Radio, 5030 N 72 Street; or The Salvation Army, 3612 Cuming Street.

The kits are being given to flood victims by The Salvation Army for businesses and homes in Omaha’s metro area.

Volunteers Needed for Mobile Feeding Units
The Salvation Army’s Kroc Center has been active since Memorial Day deploying mobile feeding units to feed and hydrate emergency workers who are monitoring flood activities along the Missouri River daily. Since May 30, more than 21,000 people have been served.

Volunteers are needed. If you would like to help with the mobile feeding unit, contact Ginger Noel at the Kroc Center, 402.905.3519 or ginger_noel@usc.salvationarmy.org. For all other volunteer opportunities, contact Kay Weinstein at 402.898.6000 or kay_weinstein@usc.salvationarmy.org.

Monetary donations:
To donate to The Salvation Army’s flood response in South Dakota, Iowa or Nebraska visit givesalvationarmy.org, call 800-SAL-ARMY or mail a check to The Salvation Army, 3612 Cuming Street, Omaha NE 68131. Be sure to designate your donation to “Flood Relief.”

Donations of used Household Goods and Clothing:
Due to the high expense and time demands associated with delivering your gently-used household goods and clothing (gifts-in-kind), The Salvation cannot guarantee that any individual gifts-in-kind donated now will be sent to the disaster area. In time of disaster, our stores fill these needs from existing, pre-sorted stock. By continuing to donate gently-used household goods to your local Salvation Army store, you not only help your community, you help us prepare for future disaster relief needs. To find your nearest drop-off location, please go to www.satruck.org.

Camping We Will Go

The first official day of summer is only 1 week away, and most schools have either dismissed for the year or are getting ready to. For students, this means nearly 3 amazing months to play, explore, and just be a kid!

There’s nothing that greater epitomizes the summer experience as camp. Last year, more than 180,500 kids explored the outdoors, participated in sports, created arts & crafts, played music, learned about the Bible and more at our Salvation Army summer camps and day camps across the country.

Many camps are already in enrolling. You can register your child for a summer camp by contacting your local Salvation Army (search by zip code here) or a day camp by contacting a Kroc Center near you.

If you don’t have kids, you can help provide a camp scholarship to a child in need by donating to your local Salvation Army. In the article “Summer Camp Memories” published in the June 11 War Cry, contributor Laurie Miller fondly recounts The Salvation Army’s Camp Arnold at Timberlake in Eatonville, Washington, which she described as her “home away from home for seven summers” when she was growing up.

After explaining that many of her fellow campers came from broken homes and abusive family situations, Laurie writes:

“For years, I thought camp was just a free vacation I deserved as a child. Later, when I learned a fee was involved, I wondered how my mom could afford to send me each year. Not until I was an adult in my 20s did I realize that a woman from our church had sponsored us to go every year. I’m not sure she ever really knew how much going to Camp Arnold truly meant to me.”

As Laurie shows us, the experiences of a summer can impact the rest of a camper’s life. Whether you send your own child to camp or help to send someone else’s, consider how you can help The Salvation Army make a difference in a young person’s life this summer.

For more information about how The Salvation Army serves approximately 30 million Americans in need every year, visit our website at www.salvationarmyusa.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Did You Know, Pt. 5: The Gift of Kroc

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Did you know that Joan Kroc, widow of McDonalds’ founder Ray Kroc, gave one of the largest charitable gifts in history to The Salvation Army? Click on our National Salvation Army Week ‘Did You Know’ video to find out more!

* Beaumont, TX: The Salvation Army will host the second annual Kids Book Fair on Friday, May 13, at the Point North Housing Complex.

* Modesto, CA: The Salvation Army’s Red Shield youth members will provide a Boxing Demonstration at the Vintage Faire Mall on May 14.

* Nashville, TN: The Nashville Sounds minor league baseball team will host The Salvation Army as Charity of the Night on Saturday, May 14. The Army will host a booth at the stadium featuring activities and giveaways for families and kids as the Sounds take on the Sacramento Rivercats.

Happy National Salvation Army Week!

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Today’s no ordinary Monday – it’s the first day of our 58th annual National Salvation Army Week! Every year we use this week to say ‘thank you’ to our volunteers, donors, and beneficiaries who have enabled us to serve in the United States for more than 130 years!

Typically observed in the second week of May, National Salvation Army Week was first declared by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954. In the proclamation, Eisenhower noted: “Among Americans, The Salvation Army has long been a symbol of wholehearted dedication to the cause of human brotherhood . . . Their work has been a constant reminder to us all that each of us is neighbor and kin to all Americans, giving freely of themselves, the men and women of The Salvation Army have won the respect of us all.”

Everyday this week we’ll post on our national website a Salvation Army “Did You Know video,” and on our blog we’ll list Salvation Army Week events going on around the country. We hope you’ll celebrate this long standing tradition with us and learn something new in the process. Check our blog, website, and social media sites each day for new fun facts!

All Dressed Up With Somewhere To Go

Trust us, you won’t wear that again! Donate it to a good cause. Photo: 27 Dresses

I’m not as bad of a dress hoarder as Katherine Heigl in “27 Dresses,” but for awhile I did have several bridesmaid and formal gowns filling the dark recesses of my closet. Those dresses and I told ourselves it was just a matter of time before we went out, together again, to that next big party.

But we both knew it wasn’t really going to happen. Then there finally came the day when we (mutually) decided it was best to move on, and our last hurrah took place at The Salvation Army Thrift Store donation center. It was good closure to know that they would make some deserving young women very happy for just the right occasion.

In truth, most women probably have a handful of formal dresses collecting dust in their closets. The Ashland Salvation Army Kroc Center in Ohio is hosting an event that could provide that needed push to purge.

As a part of “The Princess Closet,” the Kroc is collecting gently used prom, homecoming, and bridesmaid gowns to make sure every young woman can be outfitted for prom night. Through generous public donations the event will help girls who cannot afford a new prom dress find something equally beautiful. Plus, the girls will get expert advice on hair styles and makeup.

Is there a better fate for your old dresses? I can’t think of any.

If you don’t live in the Ashland, OH area, just take your dresses to a nearby Salvation Army donation center. Plenty of young women will be searching our stores for that perfect prom dress. Yours may be just the one they’re looking for.

A Community Investment

Any time a new Kroc Corps Community Center opens somewhere in the country, we get excited just thinking about all the great programs and services that the local area will soon experience. Whether it’s fitness classes, job training courses, or after school programs, it’s overwhelming just to think about all the opportunities available. We believe the late Mrs. Joan Kroc would be very proud to see how her vision and generous endowment has developed from one Kroc Center in San Diego, CA to a growing network of Kroc Centers across the country, each deeply invested in their local communities.

This week I came across a story from The Salvation Army Metropolitan Division’s blog about the Kroc Center under construction in Chicago. Though it’s not slated to open until 2012, the Kroc is already investing in the community, as well as allowing the community to invest in the Center.

Eight local residents have already completed a construction training program sponsored by the Kroc’s general contractor, and their first job very well may be helping build the Kroc Center itself! It’s a unique opportunity for these individuals to become invested in the Kroc on a whole different level.

According to Chicago’s blog, the Kroc Center will create 220 construction jobs for locals during its two-year construction phase and another 200+ permanent jobs once it’s open. Read more about how the Kroc is benefiting the Chicago area even before it’s open, here at The Salvation Army Metropolitan Division’s blog.