Stephen and Ayesha Curry Join Volunteers to Build Amazing New Playground

June 17, 2021

Franklin Elementary School students celebrate their new playful schoolyard with KABOOM! and our partners Eat. Learn. Play., The CarMax Foundation, and Oakland Unified School District

A brand-new playground complete with boogie boards and track rides. A top-of-the-line sports court and a beautiful community garden. A hand-painted mural reminding students of the importance of their own voices.

These are just a few of the unique features that students and community members brought to life in Franklin Elementary School’s new schoolyard, which will spark play and joy for more than 1,000 kids each year.

On June 12, KABOOM! joined Franklin Elementary students, teachers, and staff, along with community and project partner volunteers from Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, The CarMax Foundation, and Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) to put the final touches on the schoolyard transformation after a week of volunteer construction. The event was the culmination of months of hard work and planning by dedicated school leaders, including Oakland-based FarmScape, which designed the students’ new sensory garden, and DJ Agana, a local artist who designed and created the school’s incredible new mural.

Promoting Playspace Equity in Oakland

Play is a developmental necessity that sparks social, emotional, and physical development, and kids must have a safe place to play in order to thrive. But access to play is too often dictated by race, zip code, or socioeconomic status. KABOOM! works to amplify the power of communities to end playspace inequity. Our partnership with Eat. Learn. Play., CarMax, and OUSD at Franklin Elementary shows that when we work together, we can ensure that every kid, everywhere, has a place to play, thrive, and learn.

Before Photos of Franklin Elementary’s PlayspaceClick or tap a picture below to see it larger. Photos from 2019.

Franklin Elementary's playspace 2019 blacktop

Franklin Elementary's playground in 2019

Franklin Elementary's secondary playspaces with tot lot slide

Stephen Curry and kid fistbump during Franklin Elementary playspace build

Stephen Curry and Adam A. meet and fistbump while building the Franklin Elementary playspace.

“I’m the most excited for playing, finding new friends, and the basketball hoops!” Adam A., student at Franklin Elementary

Volunteers at WorkClick or tap a picture below to see it larger

Volunteers hold hand-drawn size to organize volunteers teams

Volunteer spray paints a basketball backboard

Volunteer tights bolts on a playground platform

Volunteers use a drill on a playground platform pole

A little girl paints the asphalt with a rolling brush

A young boy runs across the court in a Stephen Curry jersey

A volunteer takes a short break to pose for the camera

The Curry Family VolunteersClick or tap a picture below to see it larger

Photo #1, #4, and #16 provided by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Eat. Learn. Play.’s “Franklin Elementary School Playground, Court, and Garden Project.”

Ayesha Curry and Ryan Curry plant in the garden

Stephen Curry and Lysa Ratliff plant in the garden

Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry install a playground slide

Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry install a playground slide with help from KABOOM!

Ryan and Riley Curry test out the new playground slide

Ayesha Curry tests the new playground zipline

Stephen Curry tests the new playground zipline

Ayesha and Ryan Curry spray paint butterflies

Stephen Curry spray paints his autograph on a blackboard

Stephen Curry and Ayehsa Curry put in the final piece of the multi-sport court with KABOOM!

Stephen Curry tests the new basketball court with a layup alongisde a Franklin student

Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry cut the ribbon to open the new playspace

Stephen Curry poses with the mural artist and volunteers

Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry pose together at the new playspace

“What’s so special here is that they have everything they need to thrive: a playground where they can learn to share, negotiate, and take risks; a sensory garden where they can learn about the healthy things that go in their body … and this amazing basketball court where they can practice teamwork, sharpen their skills, and have some fun together.”

Lysa Ratliff, CEO, KABOOM!

Franklin Elementary’s Playspace: AfterClick or tap a picture below to see it larger

Photo #6 provided by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation’s “Franklin Elementary School Playground, Court, and Garden Project.”

Video footage courtesy of Kyle Henry / Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation.

Volunteers and partners pose in front of the new playground

An on the ground view of the new playspace

A wide view of the new multi-sport court

A mural around the multi-sport court says I can do all things

A new garden with new plants and planter boxes

Kids play on the new multi-sport court with a yellow basketball

“They can see themselves in this space. They can feel inspired and they can believe themselves. And the community has spoken really loudly that we believe in them.”Lusa Lai, Principal, Franklin Elementary School Tweet this!