Beyond the Arc: Steph Curry’s work to improve the world (a series)

We all know Stephen Curry as a 4-time champion or two-time MVP. However, he is an important figure way beyond the 3-point line. What has he meant for the world, and what will he leave behind if he leaves the NBA, apart from the things on-court? In the first part of this series, I will discuss his work in his own community of Oakland.

(Image credit to Golden State Warriors on Youtube)

The Eat, Learn, Play, Foundation

In 2019, Steph Curry and his wife Ayesha launched their charity, Eat. Learn. Play. in what they call their ‘adopted hometown’ of Oakland, California. The foundation is meant to help kids unlock their full potential. They put it best themselves.

‘When we launched Eat. Learn. Play. In 2019, we saw the tremendous need that existed in our adopted hometown of Oakland and set to use our platform and resources to work to unlock the full potential of the kids in our community’

-Ayesha and Steph Curry

Their mission is to support the well-being of children by focusing on key elements of childhood development. Having enough nutritious food to grow and function, being able to read properly from an early age, and having the opportunity to play in safe, fun, and stimulating environments.

Eat.

One of the key elements of his charity is Eat, which works to reduce hunger. Before starting his charity, Steph noticed his community in Oakland was facing a challenge. In Oakland, 37% of kids live in homes that are food insecure, with children of colour being disproportionately affected. Their vision and goal are to transform the school meal system by making sure that Oakland can produce 6 million school meals annually. They also work to make school cafeterias a safe and fun environment for children to eat, learn and play.

Recently, they expanded their partnership with Kaiser Permanente to increase their funds for more healthy food initiatives and help with 25 schoolyard renovations in the next 3 years.

Learn.

The second core element of his foundation is Learn. which focuses on helping children develop academically by increasing literacy. Only 1 in 3 children is reading at grade level at the end of the third grade. Children who aren’t reading at the proficient level at that age are 4x less likely to graduate from high school.

To solve this problem, Eat. Learn. Play. has provided thousands of kids in Oakland with free age-appropriate books to read. They have been doing this by restocking school libraries and hosting free book fairs. Next to this, they have been helping with providing tutoring for all kids who need it. Combining these things makes sure every child has access to all sorts of education, which opens many doors for future careers.

Play.

Lastly, we have play, arguably one of the most important aspects of childhood. They help kids have fun, get enough exercise and make new friends. Only 14% of youth are getting the recommended 60 minutes of exercise a day. This comes with a big gender gap, with girls being much less successful than boys.

To improve this, Eat. Learn. Play. has a lot of initiatives, like summer camps, after-school activities and schoolyard renovations. They are working to create an environment where all children can develop their athletic skills in a low-pressure and fun environment. 

They also work to do entire school yard renovations, to make sure schools are a place of fun and learning. They make sure kids can go outside to play, learn outdoors, and have enough opportunities for exercise.

Christmas with the Currys

The last part of Eat. Learn. Play. to discuss is the Christmas with the Currys initiative. This is a free book fair hosted every Christmas, where children are allowed to pick 4 books each. This not only makes sure kids have enough to read but also means that every kid gets a gift on Christmas. With this initiative alone, Steph Curry and his wife have given back millions to their community to make it a better place.

Without even touching a basketball, Steph Curry is making the world a better place: meal by meal, activity by activity and book by book. It means he is leaving behind way more than rings and records he broke; he is leaving behind a community he knows he helped shape, and that makes him inspiring, for many players and people alike. In part 2 of this series, I will discuss his impact beyond Oakland. 

article written by Norah d’Hont ©Norah d’Hont 2026