Trulittle Samaritan Hero (7-11)
Lauryn Rose Teixeira (Aged: 10 years)
Lauryn is an author and Kidpreneur who is involved in several activities supporting her community by raising awareness for more positive representation in children’s media. Lauryn is an empathetic child who lives every day finding ways to help those who need it most. She dreams of fighting for a better world for all of us.
At the age of four, Lauryn was one of the characters in the book I’ve Got My Hair Out by Nathaniel Phillips, a book that empowers Black girls to love their Afro Hair.
Lauryn is passionate about supporting the community and the planet. She was one of the volunteers, of the campaign #ACTFOREALING helping artists to paint a beautiful illustration titled: A vision for net zero Ealing at the Ealing Broadway shopping centre.
Trulittle Samaritan Hero (12-18)
Deryn-Bach Allen-Dyer (Aged: 18 years)
Deryn-Bach recently turned 18. At age 11, along with her mother and teenage sister, she was homeless. This period in her life had a massive impact and influence on her and it has shaped the person she is today.
It was at the same time that her new school and community suggested to her mom that she might be neurodivergent. She is autistic, but she has never let that stop her from doing and giving her best in everything!
Her first encounter with helping others happened at a rock concert in 2016. She, along with her mother and sister, helped at the door by selling tickets. Little did we know all the money was going towards helping the homeless!
In 2017, a friend (a Commonwealth Judo player) had a terminal brain tumour. This led her on a journey of charity work and raising awareness through sports for charity and others. She set up a Kids vs. Legends Judo Tournament, which brought youngsters aged 8-14 together with World/Olympic/European Champions from all over the world to "compete '' against each other and raise money for the charity.
She was awarded Young Volunteer of the Year in 2017 and 2018 by British Judo and was also awarded the President's lifetime achievement award on behalf of the teams that I had brought together.
She has done other charity fundraisers as well as volunteering in my community with youth groups, classes, and holding events for them. For my Humanitarian/charity/sport and volunteer work, she was awarded the most prestigious award that a young person can get. she received the Diana Award in 2019 (2 years later, in 2021, she was the chairperson on one of fifteen panels around the World) and again in 2023, I was asked to be a judge.
In 2021, she won a Mid Glamorgan High Sheriff's Award.
Other awards include becoming the Commonwealth VI Champion 2019
Disability Sports Wales Emerging Athlete 2020/21.
She has Won medals in All of the Adaptive British Schools and Adaptive British Open championships from 2014 (in 2016 she was awarded the BELIEVE Inspire Award for sport in Wigan) to 2023 (in 2023 I beat the current Adaptive Olympic Champion)
Commonwealth day poetry 2020 winner for my poem inspired by my own Commonwealth experiences (Available on YouTube and the best part was having Michael Sheen do the voice over!)
She was honored in 2022 to be one of the baton bearers in the Queen's Commonwealth baton relay. This is something that I will always hold close to my heart, as Her Majesty is no longer with us.
She was also one of only two young Welsh volunteers to volunteer at the B#2022 Commonwealth Games in Judo/Wrestling.
She was also invited to be a young volunteer at the 2022 UK School Games. (even though my sport was not on the program).
She was invited to sit on the panel at our very first National Welsh Women in Sports Day at the Bay in Cardiff.
As well as appearing on TV highlighting my sport as a minority but also me as a female in a traditional male setting, she was also part of the #B2022 Team Wales video campaign.
She continues to volunteer in my community, not only in sports but also in her culture and language of Welsh.
She volunteers with school and community groups with performances, recitals, singing, and dancing.
She recently finished her A levels and she’s about to start university to study a BA (Hons) in acting at the UWTSD in Carmarthen.
She has just finished a Welsh language production that took her away from home for 3 weeks with the Urdd youth theater company group Cwmni.
On Sundays, she studies with the YAS program at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff and she has just been accepted for their Richard Burton Youth Company.
She sings with only girls aloud. She has almost finished her Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, and in May 2023, she was one of only 500 people across the UK to be honored by His Majesty King Charles with a King's Coronation Champion Award.
She is currently on the National Youth Sports trust / the Disability Sports Wales (she has ASD), Welsh sports youth panels, and the inclusion, diversity, and ethnicity panel for British Judo.
