COEUR d'ALENE - McKenzie Brett was excited to point out where she placed her handprint after slapping sky blue paint on her gloved palm.

"Mine's right there, right on top," she said with a smile, gesturing to a thick post in a wooden boat feature. "It feels good to know that I left my mark on my hometown."

McKenzie, a 14-year-old Coeur d'Alene High School freshman and Key Club member, was one of 35 student volunteers from CHS and Lake City High School who helped paint Fort Sherman Playground at Coeur d'Alene City Park on Sunday during the second phase of the Idaho Panhandle Kiwanis Club's efforts to breathe new life into the fading structures. The club initially spearheaded the project of purchasing and building the playground in 1997 and now, nearly 20 years later, is leading its much-needed restoration.

"I remember playing on everything," said CHS sophomore and Key Club member Hannah Patin, 15. "I love this park. It was actually my favorite park to come to because it was so big and unique, and I love the little chimes at the entrance over there. Those are my favorite."

Patin and her Key Club colleagues painted several features and also got in on leaving their painted hand prints on the boat structure.

"It makes me think about how in the future when we have kids we can take our kids here and say, 'Oh, hey look, I painted this,'" she said. "I think it's really cool that people will see the work that we did and just appreciate it. All the vibrant colors, they'll be able to appreciate that. Before, it was just kind of dingy, and I really like how now it's come to life."

Lake City High School junior and Key Club member Allison Branscome, 17, carefully worked in bare feet as she filled in the black outline of the elephant tot slide.

"It feels good to give back to the community and help make the park better," she said.

The "Key" in Key Club stands for "Kiwanis Educating Youth" and the club is a service-based, community-minded organization. Cheyanne Risch, 17, CHS junior and Key Club treasurer, said she fell in love with the concept of the club when she joined. She worked on several projects, including filling in the letters on signs. She said her 4-year-old niece loves to play in the Fort Sherman Playground.

"It feels really good just knowing that when the kids next see it, it's going to be totally different for them and they're going to have this great new experience," she said. "They may not be able to play with it today, but it's going to be a lot better."

Retired Coeur d'Alene City parks director Doug Eastwood helped with painting and took photos of the progress. He was instrumental in choosing and installing the 15,000-square-foot playground when the project was presented.

"We started talking about the size of these things and what it does for kids," Eastwood said. "A kid comes in here and starts playing and it's endless opportunities, their imagination just runs wild. You look at a smaller piece of play equipment today, they'll go play on it for 15 minutes and they're done. This one right here, they have to be taken out because they don't want to go. This is a fun place."

The beautification of the Fort Sherman Playground began with a power washing about a week ago and will conclude with a clear-coating session that will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Panhandle Kiwanis president Dave Kilburg said he is hoping for 100 volunteers to help with the process and a barbecue will be held in the park following the completion of the cleaner, better and brighter playground.

To volunteer, email panhandlekiwanis@gmail.com.