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Golden State Warriors NBA player Stephen Curry and entrepreneur wife Ayesha Curry unveiled their Eat. Learn. Play. Bus to a group of kids outside an elementary school in Oakland, California, on Sept. 8.
The colorful pink, blue and yellow “mobile resource unit” will give out “hot meals, grocery staples, fresh produce and free books to underserved children,” Forbes reports. In addition to the colorful artwork displayed both inside and outside the converted school bus, it includes several flat-screen TVs, a rooftop deck, speakers, a library, and a basketball hoop.
Ayesha shared that inspiration for the concept came from the desire to provide the community’s children with the resources needed to feel energized and academically engaged.
“This idea came basically from me wanting to find a way to eradicate food deserts within the Oakland area,” Ayesha Curry said, according to NBC News.
“At first, the idea was around, ‘How can we find locations where people can come and pick up fresh produce and other things for their families?’ Logistically, especially with Covid, that idea started to seem far-fetched.”
“That, to me, is unacceptable,” she added. “It’s not the teacher’s fault. It’s not the parents’ fault. It’s a community issue. Let’s get together, give this model a try and see if we can create some excitement around reading. If we can all join together and try to fix the issue together and turn these numbers around, then I think we’re doing something right.”
aCoach.org reported that Black, Latino and Pacific Islander students in Oakland “are four times more likely to be reading multiple years below grade level than our white students.”
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According to Steph, the bus’ route will allow the mobile resource to pop up randomly all over Oakland, such as at churches, community centers, and schools.
“We want mystique about it,” the NBA player said. “So it may show up anywhere, take on a life of its own and has the capabilities to host an event anywhere.”
Although the couple has worked together on countless charitable endeavors since Steph went pro in 2009 — including those through their Eat. Learn. Play Foundation — the baller emphasized that developing the bus was “special” and “surreal.”
The president and CEO of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce, Cathy Adams, said it was no surprise the Currys were doing more to help their community thrive.
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“And it’s heartening to see an NBA star and his successful wife in her own right use their platform for good,” Adams expressed. “Over the years they have shown a commitment to Oakland in general, but especially to neighborhoods where kids need to be impacted more, neighborhoods that have been compromised by systemic racism.”
“We’re going to be listening to the community to figure out where the best and greatest impact will be with the bus,” Steph said. “But we cannot be more excited about it and how it will be received — and what impact it will have.”
