Clay Sauereisen holding his Elijah Straw Helping Hand Award.

The Elijah Straw Memorial Fund and the entire Straw Family were honored to present O'Hara Elementary School 3rd grader Clay Sauereisen with the third Elijah Straw Helping Hand Award for his exceptional friendship, kindness towards others, overall good citizenship, and most of all, for embodying the core values ("Respect, Responsibility, Integrity") of O'Hara Elementary School. Clay received a certificate of merit, a Barnes & Noble gift card, a pizza party for his classroom, and most importantly, a chance to donate an amount equal to his gift card to the local charity or organization of his choice.

From the award letter they received:

On behalf of the Elijah Straw Memorial Fund and the Straw Family, we proudly present to you, Clayton Saueriesen, the Elijah Straw Helping Hand Award. This award was created in our son's memory to celebrate and honor exceptional friendship, kindness towards others, and overall good citizenship; we are pleased to present it to such a worthy candidate . . . You should be very proud of the example that you set, and we hope that your actions will further inspire you and your classmates to make lasting and meaningful positive impacts on the lives of others − in the classroom, your community, and beyond.

Check out what Clay's teacher says about him:

"Clay embodies the core values of O'Hara. Everyday I can count on Clay to make good choices and do the right thing. He instinctively puts his best foot forward in his classwork and relationships with others. With his positive attitude and sense of personal responsibility, Clay is a pleasure to have in class."

Added another teacher and nominator:

"Clay should be the poster child for our core values, but particularly "Integrity." Clayton always does the right thing, and he never cares who is watching him. In my classes, I find him willing to help others no matter what need they have. He reaches out calmly and quietly to never draw attention to himself or any other student. When he helps, he never does so to receive recognition, but rather he helps others because it is the right thing to do. He is well liked by his peers, and he never seeks to put anyone down. He is only in the business of 'put-ups.' I have seen this kind of behavior from him since first grade. He is worthy of recognition."

"Put-ups": now that is what Elijah's Helping Hand Award is all about! Congratulations, Clay, for a job well done!

Update: Clay decided to honor Elijah's love for parks and playing outside by makig his donation to the Aspinwall Riverfront Park Fund. Great choice, Clay!

More Photos of Clay

Please click on any image to see a larger version in a new window.

Clay with proud parents Laura and Karl		Clay with O'Hara Elementary Principal Dr. Mike Rowe
Jen and Tom Straw with Clay and his parents Laura and Karl		Clay Sauereisen

Please consider donating to the Elijah Straw Memorial Fund using the link below:

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