Warriors star Stephen Curry and entrepreneur wife Ayesha unveil first of 150 libraries in small town Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — With literacy rates falling during and throughout the pandemic, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry and entrepreneur wife Ayesha’s Eat. To learn. Player. The Foundation is tackling this problem head-on. At Franklin Elementary in Oakland, the first of 150 libraries in the small town was unveiled with the goal of bringing 30,000 books to children across the Bay Area.

According to an Eat. To learn. Player. Press release from the Foundation, 1 child in 3 reads at school level at the end of the third year. In Oakland, after two years of distance learning, only 15.4% of black students and 12.5% ​​of Latino/a elementary school students are reading at the grade level.

“From kindergarten through third grade, making sure you’re reading at your grade level by the time you get to third grade determines your educational future,” Eat said. To learn. Player. Co-founder of the Ayesha Curry Foundation. “So for us, reversing those numbers is really, really important.”
Last September, Curry’s unveiled the Eat. To learn. Player. Foundation bus with the aim of bringing resources directly to people in need.

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The goal of small town libraries is to take this push further, making reading fun and accessible.
“These boxes can hopefully facilitate access to literacy resources and serve these children in a fun and accessible way,” Eat said. To learn. Player. Co-founder of the Stephen Curry Foundation. “As Ayesha said, 150 of them are going to roam Oakland and the right areas and locations. But that means 30,000 books in the hands of kids who need inspiration, tools to grow in the right age and hopefully bring an amazing experience of fun to read, that’s what it’s all about.”

The food. To learn. Player. Foundation Little Town Libraries are selected by community partners including the Oakland Literacy Coalition, Oakland Public Library, and Black Cultural Zone.

Franklin Elementary was a special place for the Curry’s, a basketball court renovated with help from the CarMax Foundation and Kaboom, Illuminaries artwork, and a garden. The unveiling of the small town libraries represented a long-awaited return to in-person events.

“Being back here in person, a little more energy and bringing these small town libraries here, this being the first, hopefully reflects our commitment to Oakland and our commitment to the next generation of kids and continue to find ways to impact them and give them the right resources and have fun, that’s what it’s all about,” said Stephen Curry.

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