September 6th 2023.
The start of a new school year can be exciting for some students, and for those less fortunate, it can be a struggle. Thankfully, four-time NBA champion Steph Curry and his wife, New York Times best-selling author Ayesha, have taken it upon themselves to make sure those underprivileged students don’t miss out.
On September 6th, they announced a $50 million commitment to Oakland Unified School District in California through their organization Eat. Learn. Play. This will ensure that students in the district have the resources they need for success in the upcoming school year. The money will be used to provide healthy meals, support to become stronger readers, improved schoolyards, and opportunities to participate in youth sports.
Ayesha shared her enthusiasm regarding the initiative with Black Enterprise, saying “We realized there is so much more that needs to be done, so we are just fired up.” The couple has been running Eat. Learn. Play. since 2019, using a three-pillar approach: nutrition, education, and physical activity. They have already provided breakfast and lunch to students in the district and plan to help them reach a third-grade reading level.
The Currys are also providing access to tutoring and books for the students, with a mobile resource center that holds 100,000 books annually for families in the community. Additionally, they are committing $50 million to transform six schoolyards on select district campuses, including state-of-the-art multisport courts, mini soccer pitches, play structures designed by the kids, community gardens, outdoor classrooms, and reading areas.
To make sure the funding goes back into the community, Eat. Learn. Play. has established partnerships with corporate and community partners, such as Workday and Alameda County Community Food Bank. Workday employees have been going in to clean up the schoolyards, and their CEO Aneel Bhursi has expressed his appreciation for the project. He believes it helps build community and get Oakland back on track.
The couple is also looking to expand their project across the country, but first plan to prove their model works. They also plan on advocating for policy change, which has already been very beneficial. Steph and Ayesha understand that when it comes to the kids, it really does take a village.
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