D.202 student athletes give back to local restaurant owner

Thirty student athletes from Plainfield High School-Central Campus, Plainfield South High School and Plainfield North High School donated $500 to honor and thank a Plainfield restaurant owner for his efforts helping the community.

The group made the donation to Gus Alexopoulus, long-time owner of Larry's Diner, for all he and his staff have contributed to Plainfield.

PHSCC senior Kaylie Dahms organized the event on August 30, 2020 with help from the nonprofit Buddy's HELPERS and the PepsiCo Showdown Series.

August 30 is National Grief Awareness Day. August 28 is the anniversary of the deadly tornado that leveled the then-Plainfield High School in 1990, killed 29 people and caused hundreds of millions of dollars of property damage.

Students chose to help Alexopoulus because the pandemic hurt his business and the diner is a place where people gather, eat, and heal after the 1990 tornado.

Athletes from several sports including soccer, tennis, bowling, cross-country and cheerleading came to the event, Dahms said.

Dahms, who plays soccer and tennis for PHSCC, has done more charity work through the Making a Difference On and Off the Field campaign since the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine began in March, she said.

The Making a Difference On and Off the Field campaign seeks to unite high school athletes, teachers, and coaches in community service.

"This is the first time I got to get other Plainfield kids involved which is super cool," Dahms said.

"It was the most amazing thing, seeing (Alexopoulus) happy."