NBA superstar Stephen Curry and cooking entrepreneur Ayesha Curry are funding 150 little libraries that will be built across Oakland, California, AfroTech reports.
The initiative from the married couple is part of their Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, established in Oakland in 2019. Their goal is to give away 30,000 books to children in the city.
“From kindergarten through third grade, making sure you are reading at your grade level by the time you get to third grade determines your educational future,” Ayesha Curry said. “So for us, turning those numbers around is really, really important.”
The Currys unveiled the first of their Little Town Libraries at Franklin Elementary School in Oakland, where the couple funded a new playground in 2020.
This isn’t the first literary initiative from the Golden State Warriors point guard and the restaurateur. In 2020, the couple partnered with Austin, Texas–based book club company Literati to donate 14,000 boxes of books to Oakland Unified Schools.
“The work never stops in promoting literacy to our youth & families,” Steph Curry wrote on Instagram. “Over 50K more books are coming to the Bay!”
Ayesha Curry also shared news of the libraries on Instagram, writing, “With 150 Little Town Libraries spread across Oakland, each will house free books available for kids and families to enjoy and share. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this possible, we couldn’t have done it without you!”
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
