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Stephen Curry wears many hats. The 34-year-old is a four-time NBA champion as well as a proud father, husband, and entrepreneur. One more hat Curry wears involves his Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, which he co-founded with his wife Ayesha Curry, a cooking host and two-time The New York Times best-selling author. Read on to discover more about the two-time MVP and his foundation.

Stephen Curry’s thriving NBA career

Whenever there’s a list of all-time NBA greats, Stephen Curry is likely on it. The Golden State Warriors player is regarded as one of the best point guards in basketball history, giving Magic Johnson a run for his money. Steph’s legend keeps growing as he recently bagged the coveted NBA Finals MVP award.

This win is his fourth NBA championship (2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022) since Steph joined the Golden State Warriors in 2009. Right after securing his most recent MVP, he donated over $100,000 to basketball programs and coaching in various schools in the North Ohio District, according to CBS affiliate 10 WBNS.

The eight-time All-Star player helped the Warriors win their fourth NBA championship between 2015 and 2020. On top of Steph’s on-court accolades, he has a heart for his community. The point guard earned the NBA’s 2010-11 Sportsmanship Award and 2013-14 Seasonlong Community Assist Award. Clearly, he is a gift that keeps on giving.

What inspired Steph Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. foundation?

Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry speak at The Workday Charity Classic, hosted by the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation
Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation founders Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry at a charity event | Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Eat. Learn. Play.

Like many NBA players who use a portion of their earnings to give back to the communities through charitable foundations, Steph founded Eat. Learn. Play. (ELP) with Ayesha in 2019 to help children with exactly those actions: with exactly those actions:

  • Eat: feeding programs ensure kids and families struggling with food insecurity have the nutritious meals they need to be healthy and happy
  • Learn: help underperforming kids (below the state and national averages for reading and math) access the resources they need to learn and enjoy reading in order to attain college degrees and achieve upward social mobility
  • Play: collaborate with supporters across the U.S. to build playgrounds, sports structures, and recreational facilities for kids to have equitable opportunities to play and thrive.

At its core, ELP is dedicated to making sure no child goes hungry. The nonprofit strives to ensure kids have access to quality education and a safe environment that bolsters healthy, active lifestyles. 

Eat. Learn. Play. foundation efforts are far-reaching

Originally, Eat. Learn. Play.’s board of directors created the foundation with a singular focus on children from low-income communities in the Oakland, California area. The initiative has extended its reach to assist other regions of the country through successful partnerships with Oakland Unified School District, Alameda County Community Food Bank, Chef Jose Andres of World Central Kitchen, Homies Empowerment Program, and Share Our Strength, of the No Kid Hungry campaign.

In addition, reports Forbes, ELP’s collaboration with the food distribution company Lineage Logistics guarantees plenty of space to store and distribute the foundation’s millions of meals donated all over Oakland.

Through Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, nearly 15 million meals and fresh produce have been donated. This is obtained from minority-owned farmers and distributed to tens of thousands of families in Oakland. 

In addition, ELP gave $5 million to children and families in the Oakland community on Christmas of 2021. The 12 Days of Christmas with the Currys event that consisted of gifting and funding programs as the largest investment the ELP has made thus far.

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