WATCH: Steph And Ayesha Curry Announce $50 Million Pledge From Their Foundation To Support Oakland's Public Schools

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The Currys&#039; Eat. Learn. Play Foundation is facilitating the multimillion dollar commitment from partners to build on their existing work providing meals, improving literacy, and enhancing play for Oakland students.

Transcript

00:00 I did get outside and I played,

00:01 but when it comes to like organized sports,

00:05 organized team activities,

00:07 I did not get to do a lot of that.

00:10 And it's something that we in our household talk about a lot

00:13 because it does set the pillar for things outside

00:16 of even the exercise, right?

00:18 It sets the pillars for like the fundamentals

00:20 of communication and understanding how

00:22 to build relationships and just your overall character,

00:27 time management, understanding the routine,

00:30 like how to have a routine in life.

00:32 And so I think from that perspective,

00:34 it is so important and it's something that I didn't have

00:38 growing up in my childhood that I'm like now instilling

00:42 in my kids and it's so important to me

00:45 because I had to learn quick on my feet as I got older

00:48 and gain those skills like later on in my life.

00:56 It's the E-Learn play, you know, day at the park.

00:59 We're bringing a thousand kids from summer camps

01:02 around Oakland out to the ballpark today,

01:05 having a great time, giving them a great experience.

01:08 Me and Aisha get to throw out the first pitch

01:10 and enjoy just a day of fun,

01:13 giving these kids a great experience

01:14 and watching some good baseball.

01:16 So it's nice to be back in the old Stomper grounds.

01:18 We obviously crossed away,

01:20 got three championships over there

01:22 and now we got another one to celebrate.

01:23 So it's nice to be back, but today's about the kids.

01:26 - So we're just gonna jump right into it.

01:31 You're making an announcement about your foundation.

01:34 Can you tell us what it is?

01:36 - We've had some success over the last four years,

01:38 worked with some amazing organizations,

01:41 some amazing partners, reached a lot of kids.

01:44 And now we're trying to take it to the next level

01:46 in terms of really setting up roots

01:49 and planting a flag with the Oakland Unified School District

01:53 and 35,000 kids that they serve every year

01:57 where kids go, pun intended,

01:59 but to eat, learn and play every single day.

02:02 And so we want to really support and amplify the systems

02:06 that are already in place within the school district

02:08 and commit a $50 million plus plan and a strategy

02:13 that's been developed over these last years

02:21 to really meet the kids where they are

02:24 and really support them in ways

02:25 that across those three pillars

02:27 will truly unlock their full potential.

02:30 And we're excited about it.

02:31 It's obviously a big task, a big commitment

02:34 and it's something that we're extremely confident

02:37 that we can deliver on.

02:38 And there's a need there throughout the system

02:42 of knowing how much these kids are reliant

02:47 on the school system for just to bear essentials.

02:50 So we're excited to hopefully show up for them

02:52 in a meaningful way.

02:54 - Yeah, Aisha, did you want to add to that at all?

02:57 - Yeah, no, I think it's important to let everybody know

03:01 that that pledge is between now and 2026

03:04 and we're really excited about it.

03:07 A lot of people ask like,

03:08 well, why partner with the school district?

03:13 And I don't know if you pressed on that,

03:15 but again, like you said,

03:17 it's like meeting kids where they are.

03:19 You know, there are happy teachers and happy educators

03:24 and people within the school system

03:27 that want to make the change in the impact.

03:29 It really just does come down to access

03:31 and sort of be able to provide that access

03:34 to the teachers and the faculty within the school system

03:39 to set these kids up for success,

03:42 I think is really exciting.

03:43 So it's like a very multifaceted approach.

03:47 - Yeah, I think we need to reiterate $50 million.

03:51 That is an enormous contribution.

03:55 And I think it's so important too right now

03:57 when we think about schools that are being defunded

04:00 and a lot of people aren't investing in public schools

04:03 and public institutions.

04:05 So this is really significant.

04:08 What are you all looking most forward to seeing develop

04:11 through this huge contribution?

04:16 - Yeah, with that pledge,

04:18 and obviously that is from some amazing partners

04:20 and people who have been great contributors

04:24 to what 8 Learn Play has been since our inception

04:27 to some community organizations that,

04:30 you know, this is what they do daily.

04:34 They've been trying to activate within the community

04:37 and we're trying to amplify that.

04:38 So diverting all of our attention and focus

04:41 through the school district.

04:43 I think there's some metrics

04:44 that we wanna kind of address in terms of,

04:46 where kids are kind of struggling within the system

04:50 in terms of, you know,

04:52 one, the fact that almost 78% of kids qualify

04:56 for either free or low cost meal plans.

04:59 So you realize how, to buff up,

05:03 you know, what's provided in terms

05:06 of healthy, nutritious meals

05:09 is a bare necessity that every kid deserves.

05:11 So showing up in a meaningful way there

05:13 and obviously empty stomachs are hard

05:15 to show up in a classroom and be productive.

05:18 So you kind of wanna start there.

05:20 Our literacy goals are huge

05:22 because the third grade reading level

05:26 and accomplishments there are kind of metrics

05:28 for high school completion.

05:30 And I think around 66% of third graders

05:34 in the OUSD system are below grade level proficiency.

05:41 So if we can, you know, show up in a meaningful way there,

05:45 I think a big part of that is the access

05:47 to not just culturally relevant

05:50 and age appropriate books,

05:52 like I used to mention with the teachers,

05:54 but also getting them access to tutors,

05:56 which we know there's a lot of data on the impact

06:00 and the way that kids respond

06:04 if they have access to that type of attention

06:06 and, you know, and those resources.

06:10 And I think lastly, within play,

06:12 for us there's a lot of data just on how many kids

06:16 are getting left behind in terms of access

06:19 to spaces to go play,

06:23 participation in middle school sports,

06:25 and that's on the boys and girls side,

06:26 and just how many kids aren't living

06:29 an active lifestyle on a daily basis.

06:33 So trying to, again, encourage them

06:36 to take that seriously,

06:38 knowing how much play and sports teaches you

06:41 about yourself and character development

06:43 and building community.

06:44 And within the school district,

06:45 that's a big part of elevating

06:48 and amplifying their entire school experience.

06:51 - Is that, if there's something outside of basketball

06:54 that you did for fun growing up, what was it?

06:56 And why would you say play is important for children?

06:59 - It's almost the exact opposite of my issues experience.

07:02 I played everything like basketball, baseball, football,

07:06 golf, skipping rocks,

07:09 like being out, like you said, being outside,

07:12 just playing hide and go seek,

07:13 like just random stuff that you just were,

07:16 you were outside, you were, you know, enjoying,

07:20 like I said, community,

07:21 we learned how to like just be a part of like a team,

07:25 develop a teamwork skills, like little stuff like that.

07:28 So it's easy for me to say

07:31 that I play sports for a living now

07:33 and how much it's helped me

07:35 having that well-rounded experience growing up

07:38 as a professional now, but even outside of that,

07:41 I used to hit on most of it.

07:43 It's just the fact that, you know,

07:45 you get kids together and let them have fun.

07:48 We want kids growing up so fast now,

07:50 you want them to just be kids for a lot longer,

07:52 just to enjoy like a healthy childhood

07:55 and what that experience is like.

07:56 And I think sports is a great environment for all of that.

07:59 - Right. Now, unfortunately,

08:01 this has to be the last question.

08:03 We're already at our 15 minutes.

08:05 I know you all have limited time,

08:07 but you have been doing this work for four years

08:11 and I'm sure you've come across some touching

08:14 or impactful stories.

08:15 Are there any anecdotes that you can provide

08:18 just talking about the impact of your foundation?

08:21 - We got to unveil this super cool bus

08:26 a couple of years ago,

08:28 that now like goes around the Oakland community

08:30 and provides like fresh produce, fresh meals, books,

08:34 a safe place to play.

08:37 It has a basketball hoop on it.

08:39 And I remember when we launched,

08:41 I was like, okay, the kids are coming here today,

08:45 but there's this hoop.

08:48 Like we have all these books and there's this hoop

08:51 and the kids aren't gonna be interested in the books.

08:53 Like, how are we gonna get the kids to the books?

08:55 Like all they're gonna wanna do is hoop with seven,

08:57 which is great 'cause I want them to play,

08:59 but at the same time I want them to read.

09:01 So like, what are we gonna do?

09:04 We unveiled the library and all of the kids ran.

09:07 They ran straight to the books and we told them,

09:10 you know, you can take as many books as you want home.

09:13 They were so excited.

09:15 Kids were asking if they could take books

09:17 for their siblings and they were like in tears really.

09:21 And it made me cry 'cause I was like, oh my gosh,

09:26 like, no, these kids have, you know, a lust for learning

09:30 and an excitement for reading.

09:32 And it really does just come down to the access

09:36 to having these materials to read.

09:39 And so for me, it was like really eye opening

09:41 and touching to see that it was made me really happy

09:45 and grateful that we had the platform to be able

09:49 to provide the resources for the kids,

09:52 but also made me realize that we have a lot of work to do

09:56 to, you know, amplify what we are doing on that bus.

09:59 (upbeat music)

10:02 (upbeat music)

10:04 (upbeat music)

10:07 you

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