Way to Go: Emily Kate Cozza, Medford

Emily Kate Cozza is on a mission to make a difference.

The sixth-grader at Oregon Middle School in Medford has spent the past few years volunteering her time and helping to raise thousands of dollars for a number of local charities.

Her main involvement is with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Great Strides Walk in Holtsville, for which she helped raise more than $6,000 the past four summers in memory of a family friend. She also recently raised $222 making and selling bead designs -- ranging from birds to balloons -- to benefit Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.

"I picked Sloan-Kettering because they saved my dad's life, and I wanted to thank them," said Cozza, 11, whose father, John, survived a battle with colorectal cancer two years ago.

In addition, Cozza has participated in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life each of the past four years and helped to wrap Christmas presents through the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots Foundation.

She also won a community service award from Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy last year and the President's Award for Educational Excellence from the U.S. Department of Education. In her spare time, she enjoys playing guitar and singing.