Joan B. Kroc, was a philanthropist and peace activist. Kroc's first local philanthropic endeavor was an alcoholism educational program in La Jolla. From there she founded Ronald McDonald House Charities to improve the health and well-being of children worldwide. Kroc's donations to further peace created Notre Dame's Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies (1986) and the University of San Diego's Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice (2001). She opened and continued to make gifts to the St. Vincent de Paul Joan Brock Center for the Homeless in downtown San Diego. Her donations created a San Diego hospice facility and the Salvation Army's 12-acre Kroc community center. She worked tirelessly with grassroots leaders and cultivated relationships with political, academic, and civic leaders across the nation. She was a role model as a successful businesswoman with social consciousness. Upon her death, she left generous donations to National Public Radio and the San Diego affiliate KPBS, fostering quality independent journalism about the issues she cared about most.