Honoree Spink spices up Curry kids’ reading hour

Mary Spink, executive director of the Lower East Side Peoples’ Mutual Housing Association, stopped by the Little Missionary’s Day Nursery at 93 St. Mark’s Pl. last Thursday to read with some of the children. Spink will be one of the nursery school’s honorees at the Fourth Annual Sara Curry Awards Ceremony next month at the Angel Orensanz Center on Norfolk St. The other honorees will be Dr. Michel Cohen and, posthumously, Adele Heyman. This year’s Curry gala is a really hot ticket, featuring musical performances by members of Santana — rumor has it possibly even by Carlos Santana himself — plus members of the legendary New York Dolls. There will be a silent auction and other surprise guests. The Little Missionary’s Day Nursery is the oldest, continuously operating, nonsectarian school in New York City. It was founded in 1896 by Sara Curry, who dedicated her life to providing childcare to the Lower East Side’s working parents, earning her the name “Little Missionary.” The school recently changed its name to include Sara Curry Preschool in her honor.