YUCAIPA, Calif. -- Chicago is 2,000 miles away, but Yucaipa, a city located about 90 minutes east of Los Angeles in San Bernardino County, has a number of budding White Sox fans.
It's because one of the White Sox is one of their own. Matt Davidson, who was a first-round Draft pick out of Yucaipa High School in 2009, maintains a frequent presence at his alma mater, and on Tuesday, he, his wife Julianne and five of his Major Leaguer friends participated in a Best Buddies lunch at the school.
"I think that we're just very fortunate [as professional athletes]. We live very fortunate lifestyles," Davidson said. "To give back to people who aren't as fortunate, I think, is huge and puts a lot of things in perspective of what really is important in life.
"What we do is very stressful and takes a lot of hard work. Over time, it can also make you a little selfish, only thinking about yourself. So I think doing things like this can really broaden your view and just kind of get back down to earth and just give back. [Looking at] all these kids' faces, they're jumping up and down, and we're literally just taking a couple of hours out of our day."

Current and former White Sox players Michael Kopech, Dylan Covey, Rob Brantly and Danny Farquhar and the Rays' Daniel Robertson joined Davidson in Yucaipa. Their day started with a visit to a special-education class, where they engaged in a Q&A with the students. They then took to the field for a baseball game in which each student received two at-bats, and the day wrapped with a lunch provided by Davidson. The students each received a T-shirt and a gift bag.
 
"It's so kind of him," said Hope Gutierrez, a special-education teacher who runs the Best Buddies program at Yucaipa. "It's hard for me to put it into words because he keeps returning year after year. He's so gracious, he's so giving."
Best Buddies is an international nonprofit organization that aims to combat the "social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities." At Yucaipa, the program, which Davidson participated in during high school, pairs students with disabilities with non-disabled students for a variety of activities throughout the year, such as field trips and an annual talent show fundraiser.

For many of the students, Tuesday was a date circled on the calendar.
"Our kids look forward to it all year," said Yucaipa principal Shad Kirkland. "Last year's experience just kind of energized them. The gear that Matt and his friends brought, we saw them wearing it all year long. It's so impactful to our students."
This is the third year Davidson, who's coming off his second full season with the White Sox, has hosted the event, but he's been visiting the school and volunteering in the area for much longer.
Even as a student, Gutierrez said Davidson always made time for Best Buddies, and nearly a decade later, the 27-year-old is still taking an active role in the program.
"People would say to me, 'Mrs. G, you need to let him go because he's got to practice, he's going to be a professional ballplayer,'" Gutierrez said. "I said, 'He knows where his priorities are -- people before ball,' and he always was that way. I appreciate that, and he's still doing that, but because of the ball, he's able to give back to his people."

All of the players Davidson brought with him Tuesday are from or currently live in Southern California -- both Robertson and Brantly played against Davidson and Yucaipa in high school -- and each shared Davidson's desire to give back to the community in which they live. Robertson even hosts his own fan fest charity event benefiting his family's foundation, which aims to help those in need of financial aid when a family member is unable to work due to cancer treatment, in nearby Upland, his hometown.
"When I heard about Matt's [event], I just reached out and told him I want to be a part of it," Robertson said. "This is the platform we're on. This is what I personally like to do just to give back a little bit and spend some time with kids who want to go out and play and have fun."
"It's just a fortunate thing when you've got a group of guys that remember where they came from," Brantly said.
Covey recalled meeting a big leaguer at an early age in school in Pasadena. He doesn't remember who it was, but it didn't matter. He remembers how much it mattered to him at the time. He hoped to have that same kind of impact for the kids at Yucaipa.
"It was such a cool experience. I looked up to him because when I was a little kid, I wanted to play in the big leagues," Covey said. "I may not remember the guy's name, but it had an impact on me."