Many senior citizens tend to believe they have been pushed to the side and forgotten about.

On Sunday, August 21, 2016, more than 300 male student-athletes from 64 Chicago-area high schools (list below) came together to recognize and bring awareness to social, health and economic issues that affect this generation on National Senior Citizen Day.

The boys soccer players brought board games and monetary donations, which will be part of a surprise presentation to a large Chicago-area assisted living community early next week. The board games and $1,000 check presentation will help enhance the facility’s entertainment room to bring daily enjoyment to senior citizens residing there.

This gathering of kids from all different backgrounds is a part of the Making A Difference On AND Off The Field campaign presented by Buddy’s HELPERS and the PepsiCo Showdown.

Represented schools included: Addison Trail, Stagg, Back of the Yards, Bolingbrook, Burlington Central, Carmel, Crystal Lake South, Deerfield, Downers Grove North, East Aurora, Fenwick, Goode, Herscher, Hinsdale South, Homewood- Flossmoor, Huntley, Joliet Central, Jones College Prep, Juarez, Kaneland, Kelly, Lake View, Lane, Leyden, Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way Central, Lincoln-Way West, Lockport, Lyons, Metea Valley, Minooka, Morton, New Trier, Oswego East, Oswego, Plainfield Central, Plainfield East, Plainfield North, Plainfield South, Ridgewood, Schurz, Shepard, Solorio, St. Charles North, St. Edward, St. Francis, St. Ignatius, St. Patrick, St. Viator, Timothy Christian, UNO, Washington, Waubonsie Valley, Waukegan, West Chicago, Wheaton Academy, Wheaton North, Wheaton South, Whitney Young and Foreman, Prosser, Parker, Taft and Bloom.