Stephen Curry received the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award this week, but the most tangible impact of his Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation is visible in the physical transformation of Oakland schoolyards like those at 8755 Fontaine St. and 3994 Burckhalter Ave., backed by OUSD bond funds and the foundation's extensive investment.

Oakland's schoolyards are demonstrably changing. At 8755 Fontaine St. in the Elmhurst neighborhood, the Oakland Academy of Knowledge features a student-designed playspace, with new structures and an outdoor court that replaced heat-absorbing blacktop identified by Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) as a priority problem. OUSD board records confirm the district contributed up to $70,000 in Measure J bond funds for play matting and site preparation at the academy. This funding, alongside a parallel project at Burckhalter Elementary at 3994 Burckhalter Ave. which received up to $60,000 in Measure J funds, was part of an amendment to a Community Partner Playspace Agreement with KABOOM!, Inc., dated March 9, 2022, as documented in OUSD Legistar file 22-0544. While KABOOM!, Inc. was the direct recipient of these bond funds, the broader vision and substantial funding for these transformations come from Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, co-founded by Stephen and Ayesha Curry, which partnered with KABOOM! on these projects.

These tangible changes on the ground in East Oakland bring the recent Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award — which Stephen Curry accepted in New York this week during ESPN's annual Sports Humanitarian Awards — directly home. The honor recognizes athletes driving measurable community change, and Curry himself acknowledged "our team, our donors, our partners, the Oakland Unified School District, and the kids that we're serving" as key to this recognition.

Since its founding in 2019, the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation reports having delivered 25 million meals to Oakland kids and families, and remodeled 24 schoolyards, six gymnasiums, redesigned 14 cafeterias, and modernized three libraries across OUSD, according to its official website's "Our Impact" section. The foundation has also committed to closing the literacy gap by providing one-on-one tutoring support for 10,000 OUSD students over the next five years. Their efforts prioritize campuses in East and West Oakland where aging yards suffered from poor conditions and heat-trapping surfaces.

Beyond Elmhurst, the revitalized Manzanita Campus at 1011 Union St. in West Oakland unveiled its new yard in April 2024, featuring student-designed play structures, a nature exploration area, an outdoor classroom, and art installations. This extensive project listed Eat. Learn. Play., KABOOM!, Ripple, Workday, and Kaiser Permanente as co-funders. Franklin Elementary at 915 Foothill Blvd. also gained a new playground, multi-sport court, and garden through this same partnership, and Global Family Elementary in the Fruitvale neighborhood received its playground, court, mural, and garden in December 2022.

OUSD Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell, speaking at the Manzanita opening, noted that "New playgrounds are becoming familiar sights around OUSD, and so much of that progress is due to the amazing support from Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, KABOOM! and all their partners and supporters." The foundation has set an ambitious goal of completing 25 schoolyards by the end of the 2025–26 school year.

Walk past any of these campuses on a weekday and the new structures announce themselves above the old fence lines — equipment bright, court striping still crisp in the summer heat. The award ceremony was in New York. The schoolyards are here, tangibly transformed.