Derica Theobald - Gold Award

School: Lincoln High School
Category: Teens (11-15)
Hours: 104

Derica is a sophomore at Lincoln High School. She cares deeply about helping others and spends much of her free time volunteering. Her service mainly focuses on supporting people in need and giving back to community programs she has been involved with for many years. One of Derica’s main projects this year was cooking for the Transition Projects shelter at Banfield. Every month, she helped plan, prepare, and serve meals for people transitioning out of homelessness, making sure residents had warm and healthy food. Derica takes this work seriously, and she enjoys being able to bring comfort to others through a simple meal.

Derica also devoted many hours to Camp Meadowood Springs, a summer camp for children with communication challenges. She helped paint a wall mural, supported fundraising efforts, and spent Memorial Day weekend cleaning and preparing the camp for its summer opening. She traveled long distances for this work and never hesitated to take on tasks that needed extra help.

In addition to her major projects, Derica volunteered at several community events. She helped at the Tualatin River Wildlife Refuge plant-sale fundraiser, assisted with Chinatown lantern hanging, and supported her school’s Asian Student Union fundraising activities. Derica is a thoughtful, dedicated, and caring young leader. She works hard at school, yet always makes time to serve her community. Her kindness and willingness to help have made a positive difference in many people’s lives. Her ongoing commitment to service continues to inspire those around her.

Oregon Chinese Coalition is proud to recognize the volunteers who consistently take the time to make a difference in the lives of others. Therefore, it is a great honor to present the Community Volunteer Service Award (CVSA) to Derica Theobald.