COEUR d'ALENE - Christy Markham vividly remembers the joy she felt as a youngster when people recognized her aptitude for swimming.

However, she was unable to pursue the sport when the local YMCA closed in the early 1990s.

She shifted to other activities, even though she was passionate about swimming, because she couldn't swim without a pool.

Fast forward 20 years, and Kootenai County kids have not just one pool, but two pools and an entire aquatics center, located in the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Center.

"We have access to so many things and the scholarships to get the kids into the building that it gives the kids in our area opportunities that they really wouldn't have otherwise," said Markham, who grew up in Coeur d'Alene. "I was just excited that my hometown would get a Kroc. It was definitely a part of my heart."

As the Kroc Center's marketing and development director, Markham sees firsthand the positive impacts the center has on local youths. She witnesses them flourish and build character rather than have to give up something they love because of a lack of a facility.

"It's the self-discipline that goes along with that sport," she said. "And anyone who applies and qualifies gets a scholarship."

In a national Economic Halo Effect study commissioned by the Salvation Army, researchers at Partners for Sacred Places and McClanahan Associates, Inc. revealed that Coeur d'Alene's Kroc Center is beneficial not only to youths, but to the entire community, and the pools are just one small part.

According to the study, the annual positive social and economic impacts Kroc Centers are creating in their communities total $258,178,776 nationwide with $20,604,203 in social and economic benefits to the North Idaho community in 2014. The economic impact is almost three times the 2014 Kroc Center budget of $7,438,000.

"We are extremely pleased to confirm that in our six years of operation, the Coeur d'Alene Kroc Center has in effect surpassed the $78 million investment made by Joan Kroc and 715 local supporters," said Coeur d'Alene Kroc Center executive director Maj. Ben Markham. "We thank our donors, volunteers and community partners for the critical role they play in ensuring that these community benefits continue and grow year after year."

The study took into account several variables, including direct spending. The Coeur d'Alene location employs 43 full-time staff and 181 part-time staff and can reduce membership fees when members experience financial hardship. The subsidized fees for all 15,000 members are valued at $6.2M.

The 130,000 square-foot Kroc Center opened six years ago this month, beating out potential locations that included Seattle, Tacoma and Boise. Initial planning began in 2004 and Christy said it took an inner circle of about 25 people to campaign for a center to be built in the Lake City, which was confirmed in 2006.

"Our folks put together a pretty strong proposal," Christy said. "Yay, Coeur d'Alene."

Today, the Coeur d'Alene center is among 26 in the United States and Puerto Rico, with the closest ones in Salem, Ore., Phoenix and three in California.

Christy said Kroc Centers are usually built in metropolitan and underserved areas, however "our poverty here is a little bit hidden, it's masked, but at the same time the wealth is philanthropic."

She said leadership in Coeur d'Alene realized a new community center was necessary - a place to exercise, a space to have large gatherings, the swimming areas and much more.

"There was nothing in our community that met these needs," Christy said, adding that many leaders were on board when the project was announced.

"No other communities are really able to do that," she said. "Here, everybody important was on our side to make it as easy as possible."

The Halo Effect study "does not include is the quantitative value of how Kroc Center programs and staff have helped people find jobs, kept families together, provided safe haven for youth from abusive homes, taught social values and skills, and more," states a Kroc Center press release. "These benefits only add to the social and economic impact of the Kroc Center in Kootenai County."

The Kroc Center also provided free meeting space and day passes to more than 100 area schools, civic groups and nonprofits in 2014, an in-kind donation valued at $61,000.

Regular and out-of-town guests who visit the Kroc Center for events such as concerts, swim meets, athletic events and theatrical performances reported spending an average of $5.30 each trip to and from the center, generating $3.2M for the local economy.

Membership fees depend at membership type, beginning at $15 per month for youths ages 0-18. According to www.kroccda.org, about 25 percent of annual operating costs are covered by the $1.5B permanent endowment fund gifted to the Salvation Army by Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, while ongoing operating expenses are covered by the Salvation Army. The rest of the costs are paid by membership fees, rentals and user group fees.

"For any group to come in and do this, it's really great the Salvation Army can be a part of it," Christy said.