The Sara Curry Award

The Sara Curry Award is a humanitarian award presented annually since 2004.  The Award celebrates the life of Sara Curry, who was the ‘little missionary’ of the Lower East Side at the turn of the 20^th century.   Her life was driven by the mission to help children and families, and she created the Little Missionary’s Day Nursery, still operating today.

Sara Curry herself was honored by wealthy donors and patrons of the nursery, but always turned the gifts she was given to the benefit of others.  She took care of the physical and emotional needs of children.  But she also fed large numbers of people in the neighborhood, and visited tenement homes to help clean and organize, and give parenting support.  She even held sobriety meetings and cooking classes in the building at 93 St. Marks Place.  The street has been named Sara Curry Way in her honor.

Recipients of the Sara Curry Award are people who show this kind of community-directed mission in their lives.  They are people who contribute on a local or global level to the benefit of others.  They bring light to the dark places, they have the courage of their convictions, and they reach a helping hand to others

Past recipients include: 

Gloria Steinem – author, social and political activist
Natacha Weiss – director, Refugees International
Margarita Lopez – politician and champion of LGBT rights
Jennifer Clement – author and human rights advocate
Lily Tomlin – groundbreaking comedian
Senator Thomas Duane – politician and advocate for families
Dr. William Pollack – psychologist, author of Real Boys
Abby Epstein – documentarian and family advocate
Nilaja Sun – actor, author of No Child
Mary Spink – community activist, Lower East Side
Joe Richman – founder, Radio Diaries

Presenters include Rachel Weisz and Michael Kelly