Is there a more adorable couple in pro sports than Steph and Ayesha Curry? Add in their cute-as-a-button and precocious daughter Riley, and that ups the ante. There just isn't a more relatable, kind, charitable, fun couple on or off the court than the Curry family. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Steph and Ayesha have been giving back to their community big time during the coronavirus pandemic. Back in April the "San Francisco Chronicle" reported that the Curry's foundation Eat.Learn.Play. was serving 300,000 meals a week to families in need in San Francisco's East Bay. At the time, they had served more than a million meals. Now, nearly a year later, the Currys are still at it and their foundation has served more than 15 million meals to families in need in their community.
The Eat.Learn.Play foundation pays struggling restaurants and other foodservice businesses to prepare free meals for families and people who are underemployed. According to the foundation's recently released 2020 fourth-quarter update, this program has put $20 million back into the local economy. It has also given more than 900 restaurant workers in Oakland their jobs back at a time when many California restaurants are still closed or offering takeout and delivery only, making waitstaff unnecessary.
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But wait! This story gets even more awesome. The Curry's foundation gave a sizeable grant to chef José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen to fund meals from more than 130 restaurants in Oakland. A representative for World Central Kitchen said: "It's like we're feeding the restaurants to make sure they can feed the community."
Although Steph, Ayesha, and Riley Curry no longer live in the East Bay, they've stayed involved in the community. Just last month, Ayesha Curry opened her first retail store, a Sweet July store and café in conjunction with her lifestyle magazine "Sweet July." Located in Oakland's Uptown neighborhood, the store sells household items and books and has a coffee bar. Ayesha announced the brick-and-mortar store in September 2020, following the early 2020 launch of her magazine. The Sweet July brand has evolved from the design of the Atherton home she and Steph share with their three children.
The Currys launched their Eat.Play.Learn. Foundation on July 18, 2019. One of the first projects the foundation took on was refurbishing a basketball court in Oakland. According to the foundation's website, Eat.Play.Learn. is "focused on youth in underserved communities, our work is anchored around ensuring every child has access to three vital ingredients to a happy, healthy, and successful childhood: nutritious food, a quality education from early childhood through college completion, and the opportunity to play and be physically active." The Currys launched their foundation to do what they can to help improve the lives of children and families in Oakland, the Bay Area, and across the country.
Soon after the Currys launched their foundation they partnered with the Oakland Town Camp, the city's summer camp for local kids. Just their involvement and local name recognition doubled the size of the game from 400-500 kids a day to 900-1000 kids a day. The Curry's foundation also provided more than 25,000 healthy breakfasts and funded a $50,000 scholarship.
While the Golden State Warriors may have left Oakland for San Francisco, and the Curry family has moved from the East Bay to tony Atherton, they haven't left their roots behind and continue to give back to the families of Oakland and the East Bay with their philanthropy and their hearts.
