Taylor Leong

Welcome to "Whiz Kids," our weekly feature of school superstars.

In 2005, Taylor Leong lost her best friend to cancer. Since then, she has collected more than 3,000 gifts for children at area hospitals. It's part of her "For the Love of Erika" program, named in honor of her friend, Erika Gould, who died of brain cancer when she was 7 years old.

Taylor was recently recognized for her efforts with a Prudential Spirit of Community Service Award. She was only one of two students in Massachusetts to receive it.

"You have done more in the last five years than most people do in a lifetime," said schools Superintendent Bill Olsen.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., presented Taylor with a special certificate.

Name: Taylor Leong

Age: 12

School: Blanchard Middle School

Accomplishment: Won an award for collecting thousands of toys for area hospitals.

Taylor also serves on the Blanchard Middle School student council.

Each week, WestfordPatch seeks suggestions from readers for individual  kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid.  Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to jason.claffey@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information:

• Nominator's Name
• Nominator's E-Mail
• Whiz Kid's Name
• Whiz Kid's Age
• Whiz Kid's School
• Whiz Kid's Accomplishment
• Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness (what made him/her successful?)

If your nominee is selected, we'll contact you and assign a photographer to take a photo. For questions, e-mail jason.claffey@patch.com.