About The Fund

About The Fund

Elijah Christopher Straw passed away in a tragic car accident on May 1, 2012 at the age of 6. He was exactly one week away from his 7th birthday. Almost from the moment of Elijah's sad passing, the communities of Aspinwall, O'Hara, and Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania responded with love, care, and support which has been an incredible source of comfort and strength for the entire Straw family.

Just one of the many kind deeds was the initial establishment of The Elijah Straw Memorial Fund. The fund's purpose is to "pay forward" into the greater Pittsburgh community in Elijah's name, especially for places, ideas, events, and causes which were dearest to him. These principles, places, and activities can be broadly summarized as empathy, friendship, science, parks, playgrounds, and baseball.

Empathy & Friendship

The Elijah Straw Helping Hand Award

Elijah was a very compassionate little boy who was committed to fairness in his friendships and his play. To honor this special aspect of Elijah’s character and personality, The Elijah Straw Helping Hand Award is given quarterly at O'Hara Elementary School for students who have demonstrated exceptional friendship, empathy, and/or citizenship. Students are nominated by O'Hara teachers and staff, and the award is given every grading period of each school year. Recipients of Elijah's Helping Hand Award are given a gift card to Barnes & Noble, a certificate of merit, and a pizza gift card for the child's family. Most importantly, the student is awarded the chance to donate a monetary amount equal to their B&N gift card to the local charity of his or her choice.

For a full gallery of award recipients, and listing of the charities they have endowed, please visit the Honorees page of this website!

Science

Museum on the Move & Cretaceous Seaway

To honor Elijah’s love of science and his deep connection to the Carnegie Museums in Pittsburgh, The Elijah Straw Memorial Fund committed to a five-year funding contribution to The Carnegie Museum of Natural History for two major initiatives:

Museum On The Move (MOM): In 2018-2019, The Elijah Straw Memorial Fund began helping the Carnegie to offer the Museum on the Move program to approximately 9,000 young people at 19 sites. Designed for children and young people who have emotional, cognitive, and physical disabilities, the MOM program uses CMNH-generated research and collections to present off-site scientific classroom lessons at partner sites throughout southwestern Pennsylvania, including schools, hospitals, and shelters.

Refreshment of Cretaceous Seaway: Along with “Dinosaurs in Their Time,” the Cretaceous Seaway exhibit at the Carnegie shows the diversity of life during the Cretaceous Period. This hall brings to life the Western Interior Seaway, a shallow ocean that existed in the Midwestern United States 80 million years ago. The Elijah Straw Memorial Fund committed to a three-year grant (from 2019-2021) to help fund a multi-phased refreshment of the Seaway’s physical space. These enhancements created a richer, more immersive experience for the more than 400,000 visitors to the museum each year. Enhancements included a state-of -the-art light installation for the Mosasaurus ceiling mount and the installation of two new ceiling mount Seaway specimens.

Parks & Playgrounds

Aspinwall Riverfront Park & Elijah Straw Memorial Playground

When efforts began to convert several acres of Allegheny Riverfront property into a park, playground, and walking trail, Elijah emptied his piggy bank to make a donation, and he eagerly looked forward to playing with his brother Rowan at the park. To honor Elijah’s love of his local parks both realized and dreamed of, The Elijah Straw Memorial Fund contributed to two important parks-related initiatives in the Pittsburgh area:

Bulb Planting at ARP: In the days leading up to the park’s groundbreaking in November 2013, The Elijah Straw Memorial Fund was honored to make another donation to help purchase the bulbs needed to plant for the ceremony. In 2014, all proceeds from the First Annual Elijahfest 5K & Field Day were donated to the Riverfront Park. Last but not least, two recipients of the Elijah Helping Hand Award have donated the charitable portions of their awards to Aspinwall Riverfront Park. In the photo, Elijah's brother plants a bulb.

Elijah Straw Memorial Playground: In 2018, The Elijah Straw Memorial Fund made a significant donation via the Pittsburgh Foundation to purchase all new non-toddler equipment for the playground at Ben Killian Park in Aspinwall. This area of the park was officially renamed “Elijah Straw Playground” via Aspinwall council resolution.

Baseball

Little League Sponsorships

Elijah was a proud player for the Aspinwall Royals. In tribute to Elijah’s love of baseball, The Elijah Straw Memorial Fund has proudly sponsored five separate little league baseball players in the greater Fox Chapel area between 2013-2016. The Fund will continue to sponsor little league players as needed.

All donations will be noted on this website, so check back frequently if you are curious about what the fund is doing to help greater Pittsburgh.

Please consider donating to the Elijah Straw Memorial Fund via the Pittsburgh Foundation using the link in the bottom margin.