"I want you to go in there and continue to enjoy the love of reading" - Steph Curry encourages kids to use their new library he helped build

Steph Curry has teamed up with e-commerce company Rakuten and his 'Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation' to help a school in East Bay build their library. Curry surprised the kids at Garfield Elementary School in Oakland with the announcement made via video conference.

According to KRON4, Garfield Elementary has been without a library for ten years. When the four-time NBA champion learned about their dilemma, he used his foundation with help from Rakuten to rebuild it.

"Rakuten is giving everything that you need to re-open that library after these long 10 years," Curry said. "We're talking brand new books, comfortable furnitures, arts and crafts corners. So many activities and so much amazing space in that library for you all to foster a love for reading. To read amazing stories from all backgrounds, especially underappreciated communities and authors."

He continued:

"I only ask one thing from you — that you go in there, and use it. I want you to go in there and continue to enjoy the love of reading with each and every single one of your friends in school. And go Warriors!"

Garfield Elementary School principal Edgar Rodriguez-Ramirez was very thankful to Ayesha and Steph Curry, Rakuten and the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation. He's looking forward to seeing the kids use the new library to help the community.

"We have been waiting for a new library for over 10 years," Rodriguez-Ramirez said. "And (we) are beyond grateful for the generous support and donation from Rakuten, Stephen Curry and Eat. Learn. Play. to take this project over the finish line for our students."

He continued:

"The new library will provide our students access to culturally diverse books that tell untold stories of our community and will be a safe space for our kids to continue to foster their love of reading and explore their creativity."

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What is Steph Curry's Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation?

Ayesha (left) and Steph Curry at the 2017 ESPY Awards

Steph Curry and his wife Ayesha founded the 'Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation' in 2019. Their main goal was to help improve the lives of families in Oakland, the Bay Area and the United States in general. They have partnerships with the Nationwide Children's Hospital and Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation.

One of their projects is building around 150 "Little Town" libraries in Oakland, which will provide more than 50,000 free books to the community. They also provide and refurbish basketball courts, and sponsor other youth sports programmes, like soccer and lacrosse.

With help from Under Armour and Snoop Dogg, Curry recently unveiled a newly refurbished court in Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Long Beach, California. The court is owned by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach, which would benefit more than 200 kids in the community.

The newly refurbished court also hosted Curry's annual basketball camp. The Golden State Warriors superstar showcased his athleticism by throwing down an alley-oop reverse dunk to delight the kids.