Widow's dream remains underfunded

CHICAGO, June 15 (UPI) -- Money woes are stalling community centers envisioned by Joan B. Kroc before the fast-food chain heiress's death in 2003, a Salvation Army official says.

The widow of McDonald's Corp. developer Ray Kroc hoped her $1.8 billion bequest would allow the Salvation Army to build 30 duplicates of the complex she funded in San Diego, which has three swimming pools, an indoor ice rink and a 600-seat theater, said Lt. Col. Ken Johnson, business administration secretary for the Salvation Army's south territory.

The recession's damage to her bequest, coupled with faltering fundraising in many cities, stopped all but four centers from completion, The New York Times reported Monday. Two, in Detroit and Messena, N.Y., will not be built.

The bequest created an endowment for construction of the centers, but the Salvation Army decided to require each community to raise more money, which has proved impossible for most.