Connecting Point of Park Cities (CPPC) hosted their annual Ability to Give fundraising luncheon on April 6, 2017 at the Dallas Country Club. Thanks to their generous supporters and event sponsors, CPPC brought in over $150,000 in donations for their all-inclusive day program for adults with disabilities, and more donations are still being received. Michael Young and his wife Cristina Barbosa were the featured guests, and were interviewed during the luncheon by Evan Grant, long-time sports writer with the Dallas Morning News.
Michael Young and Cristina Barbosa spoke about Michael’s time as a professional baseball player with the Texas Rangers, their young family, and how they have come to cherish the Dallas community. Cristina shared a humorous story of Michael taking partial credit for the birth of their first son, which led Cristina to take partial credit for each of his baseball wins.
During the luncheon, the Ryan Albers Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Tony Rios, owner of My Martial Arts in Dallas. After injuring his knee and being released from the US Air Force, Tony earned his 4th degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and opened My Martial Arts, the first school in North Texas that specifically caters to kids and adults with special needs.
The Ability to Give Luncheon also included a silent auction featuring sports memorabilia, vacation packages, jewelry, and other luxury items. To close out the afternoon, a signed Michael Young jersey was offered in a live auction and was purchased for $3,000.