From the nomination letter written by O'Hara Principal Dr. Michael Rowe:
Altai is just an all-around great person. Earlier this year, O'Hara participated in the Children's Hospital Wear a Hat for Cancer fundraiser. Altai had been saving his money for himself. He decided to donate all of the money he had been saving, over $200, to Children's Hospital! Altai also was awarded a Foxes 200 card for from the noontime monitors for cleaning up trash in the cafeteria.
Principal Rowe says that "Respect, Responsibility, Integrity" mean doing the right thing even when no one is looking, and when you do not expect reward. Think for a moment about how much 200-plus dollars is to a six year-old kid--how many Lego blocks or action figures it could buy--and then Altai's generosity and compassion come into even clearer focus. Altai's mom Miranda also told us what primarily motivated Altai: "He felt terrible that the sick kids could not go to school. He could not even imagine that. Altai loves school."
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