Whiz Kid: Young Crusader Raises $800 for Medical Research

Each week, Patch spotlights young people in the Birmingham community who are successful, talented and just plain awesome. Today we introduce the latest Whiz Kid:

Hannah Moreno

• Age: 12
• School: (BCS)
• Achievement: The seventh-grader is actively raising money for medical research into a condition called Fragile X Syndrome, which causes inherited autism. She learned about the condition while researching charitable causes. This summer, with help from her mother Irene, she placed donation flyers at seven Hiller's Market stores and spent three hours at each site to solicit contributions.
  
  The high-impact effort, which fills a BCS community service requirement, raised more than $800. Hannah created a poster about her project for a hallway display at school. The crusader continues with door-to-door solicitations in her Bloomfield Hills neighborhood.
• Key to Awesomeness: "Hannah is planning a year-long campaign of raising money," says Laureen Majeske of Sterling Heights, president of this region's National Fragile X Foundation chapter. "She's a lovely, intelligent little girl, far more mature than her 11 years."
  
  The outgoing, poised student also has athletic and musical skills. She plays tennis often, competes in local tournaments and is a cellist who spent 11 days this summer at Blue Lake Fine Arts camp in Twin Lake, MI, on a merit scholarship. She'll represent BCS at a three-day National Young Leaders State Conference in Ypsilanti next March.

Do you know a local young person who deserves applause for volunteer work this summer or for challenging how we think about the environment? Maybe athletic achievements are worth sharing. Everyone deserves attention, and we want to tell these stories.

Email nominations to Editor Laura Houser at laura.houser@patch.com, provide the information shown above and include a photo with names and ages. Then, come back each Tuesday for our Whiz Kid spotlight; you never know who's up next.