Volunteers gathered Saturday for a Veterans Day project that included revamping a Brownsville playground.

The cleanup effort in the park included creating a hopscotch board, planting flowers, painting the basketball court and creating a new softball field. The project is in collaboration with the city's Parks Department and a nonprofit called The Mission Continues.

"Most of us aren't in the military anymore. We're not done serving our country and Brownsville's problems are America's," says volunteer Dennis Higgins. "This is the best way to defend our country, by improving it."

The Brooklyn team of The Mission Continues says the playground was selected after consulting with the neighborhood nonprofit Community Solutions that said the space was severely neglected.

Veterans say they plan to return to the park at later dates to update and make repairs to any unfinished work.