Salvation army gets $40 million for center

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

By Kelly Wilson

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

The wait is finally over.

The Quincy Salvation Army announced today it will receive $40 million from the estate of Joan Kroc to build and endow a Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in downtown Quincy.

Construction is expected to begin in mid-2007, and the center should be ready to open in 2009.

The announcement comes almost two years after the Salvation Army learned that it prequalified for a Kroc grant, and officials are ecstatic that they can now move forward to make their dream a reality.

"We are so grateful for this opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of so many," said Maj. Alan Wurtz, who along with his wife, Maj. Carol Wurtz, are the center's administrators. "It is our desire that the Quincy Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center be a center of hope and a beacon of light in our community."

"It's phenomenal," Chris Larson, Salvation Army advisory board chairman, said of the Kroc Center approval. "I would consider this city-changing."

Second Midwest center approved

The Salvation Army learned in December 2004 that it was the smallest of nine communities in the Midwest that prequalified for a grant from the Kroc estate. At the time, officials were told that Quincy had prequalified for a grant of $25 million, subject to completing a rigorous application process.

Once those requirements were met, the Salvation Army's Central Territorial Headquarters in Des Plaines, which oversees the organization's work in 11 Midwestern states, announced the decision that the Quincy Salvation Army would receive $40 million.

"We're very pleased that the proposed Quincy Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center has been awarded this outstanding grant from the designated funds realized through the Kroc estate," said Maj. Dennis Strissel, Salvation Army Midland divisional commander.

This is the second center in the Midwest to receive approval for the final development phase. Grand Rapids, Mich., was the first.

The $40 million is a portion of Joan Kroc's $1.5 billion-plus gift to the Salvation Army. Kroc, widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, bequeathed her estate to the Salvation Army for the exclusive purpose of developing, constructing and operating several world-class recreational, educational and ministry centers.

About 35 centers across the nation are planned, and each will be tailored to its community.

When the Wurtzes learned about the approval for Quincy's center, "we screamed into the phone," Carol Wurtz said. "I thought, 'We did it. We did it.' ... The impact in this community, it's huge. I can't even get my head around it."

Patty Douglas, Kroc project facilitator, was equally thrilled when she learned the news.

"We had great faith in our community's ability to join with us to make this happen, so I really shouldn't have been surprised," she said.

Seeing 'the big picture'

Key factors in the approval process included demonstrating community need for a Kroc center and evidence of ongoing financial support.

Larson credits the vision of local Salvation Army leaders in the late 1980s, who decided to create a Hometown Endowment to prepare for the organization's future. The money that has accumulated in the endowment fund since it was created in 1991 demonstrates that the organization has a solid financial base and a strong commitment from the Quincy community.

The approval "says a whole bunch about Quincy, and all parts of Quincy," Larson said. "It's a great town, and the people who make the decisions for Kroc see that. It comes through."

In addition to financial support, Larson says community leaders got behind the project from the beginning, and hundreds of volunteers put in thousands of hours to ensure the project would be approved.

"You cannot imagine the number of people, the cross section of the community, that has worked on this," he said.

"It's the team and the community support that really made this successful," Alan Wurtz said, adding that about 500 volunteers have contributed to the project. "They saw the big picture of what this will mean for our community."

Their efforts were reflected in a final application document that numbered more than 500 pages.

Carol Wurtz says she's proud to live in such a generous community.

"We appreciate every person who has helped us. We are so grateful and thankful. There are no words to express that to the fullest," she said.

Douglas says nobody turned Salvation Army officials down when asked to help with the project. Now, she says, "We can say, 'Merry Christmas.' "

programs, services

Half the $40 million grant will be used for construction of the center, and the other to partly establish an endowment to support the center's operation.

Before construction can begin, the Salvation Army must match or exceed 50 percent of the project's endowment — or $10 million. All but $600,000 of the local match has been raised.

"Because of the generosity of the community, we believe the rest of the endowment funds will come in, and there's no plan to do an endowment campaign at this time," Douglas said.

The center will be built on the block bordered by Broadway, Vermont, Fourth and Fifth streets.

While the center's location is ideal to meet the needs of low-income residents, Wurtz says the programs and services the center will offer are designed to serve as a magnet that will attract diverse populations.

The center also is designed to be financially self-sustaining and to further the Christ-focused mission of the Salvation Army.

A steering committee and various subcommittees worked tirelessly to identify the programs and services that would fill the Kroc Center. The groups received input from the public during a community meeting in July 2005, as well as from a needs assessment conducted by the Medical Foundation of Boston.

An ice arena, a performing and fine arts center, gymnasium, health care center, fitness center, child care facility, teen center, youth fitness arcade, classrooms, outdoor playground, climbing wall and an aquatic area featuring "endless pools" are part of the plans.

A worship center will be at the heart of the Kroc Center and will allow for substantial growth of the congregation.

A variety of programs and services for children and adults from all walks of life will be offered, such as educational programs like literacy, tutoring, parenting, exercise and nutrition, computer classes, health and fitness activities, drama, theater arts and music classes, and team and league activities such as basketball and volleyball.

Douglas emphasizes that the Kroc Center will not duplicate community services but improve services and fill gaps through collaborative efforts with area agencies and institutions.

Membership fees would be charged for certain services, with a sliding scale used, but scholarships would be available to ensure access to everyone.

"Ministries of excellence, that's what we want to do," Carol Wurtz said. "Anybody can do a program. We want to meet a need, change a life, on many different levels."

Because the grant is larger than expected, "we will go back to the needs study and look at priorities from that. Now maybe we're able to put a few more (projects) in," she said.

"There's a lot of work ahead of us yet," Alan Wurtz said.

Demolition, relocation

Architechnics of Quincy will design the center. Existing buildings will be demolished, and the Salvation Army homeless shelter on the northwest corner of the block will be relocated.

"We have to relocate that, and we'll probably do that sooner than later," Alan Wurtz said. "That will have to be in close proximity."

According to the terms of Joan Kroc's bequest, Kroc dollars can only be used for building and maintaining the center. The funds cannot be used for direct services such as food, clothing and shelter, or for the construction of emergency shelters or transitional housing.

Funding for those programs is raised through the annual Christmas campaign, now under way, and support from donors throughout the year.

"We call upon residents of Quincy and the surrounding area to give generously toward the annual Christmas effort and support their local Salvation Army initiatives during this season," Strissel said.

On the Web: www.salvationarmyquincy.org

Contact Staff Writer Kelly Wilson
at kwilson@whig.com or (217) 221-3391