Posts Tagged ‘Kroc Center’

We’ve waited all year and it’s finally here – the first day of summer! The season is a veritable celebration of life’s simplest pleasures, such as shedding your shoes for a barefoot jaunt in the grass, lingering on the porch to enjoy a beautiful sunset, and savoring the smell of charcoal as the breeze carries with it the aromas of outdoor barbecues.

And of course, it can’t be summer without a cold scoop of ice cream! Thankfully, Denali Flavors, creator of Moose Tracks Ice Cream, has this covered.

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Denali Flavors will give out 10,000 free scoops of Moose Tracks ice cream today in an event that not only celebrates the inauguration of summer, but also supports The Salvation Army. For every scoop of ice cream eaten, Denali Flavors will donate $1 to The Salvation Army’s Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Grand Rapids that is scheduled to open later this year. The money will help support the many programs that will be offered to local youth in the areas of education, fine arts, sports, health, and spiritual development. This incredible multi-use facility will contain a gymnasium and performing arts, education, aquatic, fitness and worship centers.

You can read more information about the progress of The Salvation Army’s Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Grand Rapids by visiting their website HERE.

We hope some hungry volunteers out there  can find room in their hearts (and stomachs) to help finish off all this free ice cream today. There’s no better way to put your appetite to good use. Happy  summer!

If you’ve ever played on a sports team or been involved in athletic activities, you understand what a positive role sports play in healthy physical, emotional, and social development. Plus, being active is fun!

Recreational activities are an important part of The Salvation Army’s mission in serving others and provide wonderful opportunities to support and build up youth and communities as a whole.  With summer just around the corner, The Salvation Army and several professional sports role models have been busy making sure kids have a chance to get active and play! Here are just a few examples taking place right now across the country:

Tomorrow (June 12) in Durham, NC, NFL quarterback David Garrard will host his second annual Air It Out Football & Cheer Camp.  Garrard’s foundation has enabled children from The Salvation Army to attend at no charge! In addition to Garrard, several NFL players and college cheerleaders will be personally facilitating the camp.

Dallas Cowboys running back Felix Jones

Dallas Cowboys running back Felix Jones and The Salvation Army each pledged $25,000 to the North Mabee Boys & Girls Club in Tulsa, OK during an MVP Weekend camp for local children, which included a “Sound Mind, Sound Body” football camp for high school players. Participating campers even got personal playing tips from Jones, as well as New Orleans Saints wide receiver and Super Bowl champion Robert Meachem.

The United Football League (UFL) Nighthawks in Omaha, NE donated $25,000 to the Salvation Army Kroc Center to establish two mentoring programs for local children. Through the Mini-Hawk program, Nighthawk players will have the opportunity to mentor children ages 12 and under. Through a second program geared at older kids, teenagers will have the opportunity to meet and interact with members of the Nighthawks team.

Also, players from the Los Angeles Lakers and NBA Commissioner David Stern kicked off the new NBA Cares Learn & Play Center at The Salvation Army Los Angeles Red Shield Youth & Community Center. The Lakers played with and encouraged the kids at the opening event. The Center, newly furnished with books and computers, will provide a great place youth to develop physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

We recently showed you Part 1 of  an Honor Society interview  where they sat down with The Salvation Army in Norfolk, VA. If you haven’t watched the video yet, check it out at our original post because now we have Part 2!

The band discusses their time with the kids at The Salvation Army’s Kroc Center in San Francisco, their experience on the Bed and Bread Truck in Detroit, and why they wanted to partner with us again.

For more information about the hit band Honor Society and how they’re helping to “do the most good” through their partnership with The Salvation Army, visit their website at www.honorsocietymusic.com or follow them on Twitter @honorsociety.

As we recognize Earth Day’s 40^th anniversary, we want to share with you a few ways The Salvation Army strives to be responsible stewards of our environment and resources, as well as some fun events we’re holding to celebrate Earth Day:

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PROGRAMS

• EnviRenew is a Salvation Army initiative that advocates comprehensive green building standards for New Orleans households and neighborhoods. Prompted by ongoing recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina, the program is helping to build affordable, energy efficient homes, and $10 million in grants were recently awarded to 5 New Orleans neighborhoods. Visit www.envirenew.org to learn more!

• The Salvation Army in Michigan has partnered with state energy provider Inergy Propane and its 30 vendors to encourage their customers to donate their used propane tanks. Inergy Propane will recycle the tanks and donate all proceeds to The Salvation Army’s utility program that helps those in need pay their bills. Click here to visit The Salvation Army websites for Eastern, Western, and Upper Michigan.

• Did you know the average American produces about 4.5 lbs of waste every day, adding up to about 250 tons each year for our total population? With your help, The Salvation Army reduces this amount by reusing your donated goods to sell at our Family Thrift Stores.  Your belongings are spared from landfills and fewer new products need to be manufactured! Visit our website at www.satruck.org to find out more about donating.

• Speaking of our Thrift Stores,  student designer Tamara Stratton of the Noah’s ARC Interior Design Challenge, in which students designed living areas with all recycled pieces, wrote an article about responsible renovation with Salvation Army resources. Read her article here at our Western Terrirtory’s Expect Change blog!

EARTH DAY EVENTS

• Catch a flick about the astonishing things our world holds through a free showing of Disney’s ‘Earth’ tonight at 6PM at The Salvation Army’s Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Voluntary cash donations will be accepted for their scholarship fund. Find more info at www.kroccda.org.

• In New Orleans, The Salvation Army rented out  the Elmwood Theater so that students of their Emerge program and friends of EnviRenew can enjoy a free showing of Disneynature’s new ‘Oceans’ movie in the early afternoon. Click here to learn more at Salvation Army New Orleans’ website.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) our nation’s childhood obesity rate has more than tripled in the last 30 years, yet many schools are eliminating or reducing recess, and it’s reported that almost 1 in 4 high schoolers (grades 9-12) do not engage in physical activity during their free time.

Local Atlanta area kids take a break from basketball during The Salvation Army Kroc Center's Workshop.

The Salvation Army of Atlanta is working to counter this problem by providing kids with exciting opportunities to get active! This past month they held the All Star Youth Basketball Workshop at The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center where children not only had the chance to hit the courts, but they also learned great skills and techniques from pro basketball legends!

Ikenna Ubaka, Program Manager for the Center, said they collaborated with the Atlanta Chapter of The National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA) and INNER GOOD HEALTH & FITNESS INC. to offer two weeks of fitness sessions and basketball skills clinics for 6th and 7th grade youth.

Dale Ellis gives the kids some helpful basketball tips.

Local boys and girls were able to learn firsthand from INNER GOOD fitness instructors, The Atlanta Battlecats (Women’s Basketball Team), and NBA Legends from the Atlanta Chapter of NBRPA. The sessions concluded with the Center’s Annual Julius “Dr. J” Biddy Ball Tournament with NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving.

Dr. J himself grew up playing basketball at The Salvation Army in Hempstead, New York and continues to support the Hempstead and Atlanta’s youth teams.

Other NBA legends involved with the event  included Cory Blackwell, Vincent Askew, and Duane Causwell.

A member of The Atlanta Battlecats coaches the kids in technique.

The Salvation Army Youth Recreational and Character Building Programs strive to meet the increasing challenges of Metro Atlanta youth by providing the essential recreational, social, educational, and social development tools they need to live happier and healthier lives.  To find out more about The Salvation Army’s Atlanta youth programs visit www.salvationarmyatlanta.org.

Dale Ellis and his team!

Information provided by Lafeea Watson of The Salvation Army of  Metro Atlanta.

The Salvation Army broke ground  today on The Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center for Augusta, Georgia! The impressive 85,000 sq. foot facility will be built on a 17+ acre campus and feature a social service center; arts, education and worship center; and an indoor aquatics and recreation center.

The Salvation Army’s Kroc Community Center in Augusta is part of a great vision held by Joan Kroc, wife of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc. She desired to build state-of-the-art facilities in underserved communities throughout the nation with the highest quality recreational and arts facilities so that all children would have equal opportunities to build their natural gifts and talents. In 2003, Mrs. Kroc passed away, and entrusted to The Salvation Army the largest gift ever given to a private charity for the express purpose of building and endowing Kroc Centers. The first Kroc Center was completed in San Diego, California in 2001.

In keeping with the mission of The Salvation Army, The Kroc Center in Augusta will provide facilities, programs and services to encourage and enable children and adults, strengthen families, and enrich the lives of seniors.

Members of the Augusta area will hardly be able to wait until its anticipated 2011 opening! The facility will feature anything one could ever want. The recreation center will house a full size fitness center, as well as an aquatic center with waterslide, splash park, and lap lanes – perfect for exercise and play.

The arts, education, and worship center also has plenty to offer. In this center will be located The Salvation Army’s chapel, offices, 400-seat theater, and computer lab. There are also classrooms for education, art , dance, and music rehearsal. Drop-off childcare will also be offered with an outdoor playground for kids.  In addition, there is a 270-seat Banquet Center and teaching kitchen to enable job skills training.

Furthermore, a full continuum of services will be provided in the Kroc Center, including a food pantry, rent and utilities assistance, and VA services.

On top of these incredible features that will benefit the local community, the Kroc Center will create approximately 102 full-time and part-time jobs.

The Salvation Army is excited that construction on the Augusta Kroc Center has begun! For more information, visit The Salvation Army’s Southern Territory page here.

For more information on the Joan Kroc’s vision for The Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, visit The Salvation Army’s national website here.