I did not include Mr. Curry in my last article on the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies as he deserves his own page. Well here it is!
Wardell Stephen Curry II, was the recipient of the Charlie Sifford award sponsored by the Southern Company. This is significant for two reasons. One is that Stephen Curry has skillfully managed to put his money in multiple charitable endeavors. He has poured millions of dollars into player development for young people of color and to support many Oakland, California area family initiatives. He has established one scorching blueprint for others to emulate. He has managed to do this while still playing at a championship level in the NBA and draining 3 point shots from 9 iron range.
View Steph Curry’s acceptance speech in the video below:
The second reason is that the Southern Company, sponsor of the Charlie Sifford Award and one of the nation’s premier energy companies is headed by a Black man, Chris Womack is Chairman, President and CEO of this $25 Billion company! Say no more.
So what has Mr. Curry done?
• Poured a few million dollars into establishing a men’s and women’s golf team at Howard University.
“We haven’t had people do that for athletics,” said Howard President Wayne A.I. Frederick about Curry’s donation, which was described as one of the most generous in the historically black university’s 152-year history. “It’s significant. That’s the argument I’ve been trying to make since I assumed the presidency … this is one of America’s best investments. HBCUs, the return on the investment has been incredible for the country.
When the program launched for the 2020-21 season it included a coach and three scholarship athletes, two women and one man.
In just its third year as a Division 1 program, the Howard men’s golf team won a second consecutive PGA Works Collegiate Championship (PWCC), the de facto HBCU national title.
- Established the Underrated Tour
As stated on their website. Golf is a predominantly white male sport. Underrated Golf believes the game of golf is for everyone. Underrated is building the foundation from the bottom up offering young, overlooked golfers special programming experiences allowing them to understand what it means to make connections . So, for the 50 girls and 48 boys this experience is life-changing. Now in its third year, the tour has made an everlasting impact on hundreds of young men and women with more to come. Did I mention that all travel and related expenses are borne by the Tour — which helps the parents out immensely.
The Underrated Golf Tour covers ALL expenses for the competitors, breaking down that financial barrier historically associated with golf. Although I do not have exact figures common sense says this has to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
To Mr. Curry I say this is one of the boldest acts of generosity ever done in the game. Thank you.
- Created the Eat, Learn and Play Foundation
According to 2022 tax filings, this foundation starting in n2019 by Stephen and his wife Ayesha has raised over $17 Million. It was formed to provide support to other tax-exempt organizations with a focus on providing a positive impact for low-income children and families in the Oakland, California area. It is also dedicated to ensuring children have access to nutritious food in schools. Also in 2022, the foundation provided 3 million meals, distributed 128,000 books and renovated 6 schoolyards in the Oakland Unified School District.
Philanthropic Summary
Stephen’s generosity also serves as a great example to other professional African American athletes that each of them could make significant impact in their communities, and nationwide, by providing financial assistance to the hundreds of grassroots programs in the USA that are providing valuable assistance in teaching, mentoring and guiding young people of color. Not that their efforts has to be millions of dollars like Stephen, but they would be surprised what a few thousand well spent dollars could do to support local efforts.
These athletes could also use their name in lending support because just their association with a group could actually allow that group to raise dollars and other resources.
I certainly can’t tell anyone, much less professional athletes, how to spend their money or how to allocate their resources, but I can tell you that they can make a difference if they CHOOSE to do so. If any of you African American professional athletes or your representatives need help finding organizations to support just contact me and I will guide you.
