Kroc Leaves Salvation Army $1.5 Billion:
By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer

The estate of the late philanthropist Joan Kroc has given an estimated $1.5 billion to the Salvation Army to build 25 to 30 community centers around the nation in what is considered the largest gift ever given to a single charity, officials announced today.

Kroc, the widow of McDonald's fast-food magnate Ray Kroc, provided $92 million in the 1990s to the Salvation Army to build and operate such a center in a blue-collar neighborhood of San Diego, which will serve as a model for the other centers. Kroc, who was 75, died of cancer Oct. 12 at her home in Rancho Santa Fe.

This is the same woman who left 200 million to NPR at the end of last year.

- Peace