Michigan is home to 8,000 homeless people. According to 24/7 Wall St, 11% of these people don’t have access to any type of shelter during the winter, including homeless shelters. Skyline’s Naptime Ninja Club works to help as much as they can. The club devotes its time to making blankets and donating them to homeless shelters.
The Skyline-based club gathers students for an hour after school to collaborate, have fun, and snack. “It’s a really great way to get in some volunteering after school,” member Lucille Schafer (‘25) says. “Helping the community outside of our school and homes is a good feeling.”
Meetings take place every other Monday from 3 to 4 p.m. in room C411. Meetings are open to everyone and newcomers are not only allowed but welcomed. “I brought my friend Elle Wong (25’) to a meeting with me and she loved it and wanted to keep coming back,” says member Ainsley Vendola (25’).
Once about two or three months have passed, the members make a trip to the homeless shelter and donate all the blankets they have made. “We hand the blankets to a worker but often get to meet the people they’re given to,” says member Niya Patel (25’). “They are so grateful when we get to meet them.”
While helping the homeless, students also have fun and get to know each other. “We usually go out and get food together after,” says club president Riley Howe. “We do it right after school on a day when we would have had a meeting.”
Naptime Ninjas was founded in 2019 by Sarah Zubieta (23’). After she graduated, the leadership position was passed down to Howe and Shayan Khailany (25’). “It was the first club I ever joined,” says Howe.
The club provides a fun environment where students can surround themselves with peers who share a desire to help others. “Naptime Ninjas is a good way to collaborate with new people,” says Patel. “The best part is knowing that your work is making someone’s day.”
