Eat. Learn. Play.
On Saturday, December 19 from 11AM-5PM PT, Eat. Learn. Play., along with Co-Founders Stephen and Ayesha Curry hosted the 8th Annual Christmas with the Currys holiday celebration at the Oakland Arena and RingCentral Coliseum parking lot.
This year’s COVID-19 safe and compliant holiday food, gift, and resource drive-thru distribution helped 1,000 Oakland children and families who are in need this holiday season. Families each stayed in their respective cars for the entirety of the drive-thru, while volunteers helped safely place the giveaways in each vehicle. All activities followed local county and national CDC guidelines, including wearing masks the whole time and staying six feet apart.
To celebrate with their community, the Currys returned to the site where Stephen played for 10+ years and the Warriors recently won three NBA Championships before the stadium moved to San Francisco. Oakland families were surprised and delighted with holiday-themed gifts, inspired by the organization’s EAT, LEARN, and PLAY pillars, which were valued at more than $990, per family. With 1,000 families in attendance, nearly $1M worth of items were given away on Saturday afternoon with the goal of providing assistance during the holiday season and beyond.
“For the past 11 years, we have been lucky enough to call Oakland and The Bay Area our home,” said Ayesha Curry, Co-Founder of Eat. Learn. Play.
“Way before the championships and cookbooks, this community welcomed us with open arms unlike anything our family has ever experienced in the past. This community is filled with remarkable people with an unmatched passion and spirit. This year’s Christmas with the Currys is our way of giving back to the community that has given our family so much. We want everyone to believe in the magic of Christmas, because I am promising all of you that we are committed to do everything we can this holiday season, and beyond into the New Year. Today was about bringing joy to these 1,000 families and ensuring they have a hopeful holiday season,” she added.
The Christmas with the Currys holiday gifts included meal kits, produce boxes, insulated bags for restaurant meals, sweet potato pies, $250 gift cards from WorkDay, FitBit devices and accessories, bluetooth speakers from JP Morgan Chase, English, and Spanish language books (ages 3-8) from Kaiser Permanente, face masks, hand sanitizer, family book boxes from Literati, water bottles from Oxigen, games, Oakland A’s bobbleheads, Warriors mugs, NBA All-Star caps, basketballs and swag from Rakuten, blankets, books from Pixar, socks and drawstring backpacks from Under Armour, masks from OOMLA, and much, much more.
“Christmas with the Currys is always a special part of the holiday season for Ayesha and me,” said Stephen Curry Co-Founder of Eat. Learn. Play. “Because of the pandemic, the event looked a little different this year. Our foundation, along with all of our amazing community partners, donors, and sponsors, is needed more than ever to step up and help the many families in the Oakland community who have faced food insecurity and hardships this year. Oakland has always held it down for my family so it’s in the same spirit that we’re here today, celebrating and giving back to everyone that makes this place so special.”
Throughout the day, as cars passed through the Candy Cane Lanes, they were met with smiles and cheers from festively dressed volunteers, while snow fell down on their windshields, truly creating a winter wonderland. As each vehicle moved through the distribution center, they were met with other holiday surprises such as the Golden State Warriors Dancers, Mr. and Mrs. Claus, oversized presents and ornaments and more. The drive-thru concluded with a showcase of the Golden State Warriors’ 3 championship trophies.
