Interact Club's Night In A Box raises awareness of homeless living conditions

(Top) Freshmen John Ford (left) and Jonas Acebes (right) gather several intact and loose boxes to build their cardboard dwelling. (Bottom left) Gues speaker Dr. Jorge Vazquez is a scientist working for NASA and JPL. His lecture focused on team-building strategies including a group session involving real-life scenarios. (Bottom Right) Senior Ayla Allen and juniors Meagan Ford and Kane Mara decorate their box as part of an activity for Interact Club's Night In A Box on April 4. Photo by Jake Dobbs — (Top) Freshmen John Ford (left) and Jonas Acebes (right) gather several intact and loose boxes to build their cardboard dwelling. (Bottom left) Gues speaker Dr. Jorge Vazquez is a scientist working for NASA and JPL. His lecture focused on team-building strategies including a group session involving real-life scenarios. (Bottom Right) Senior Ayla Allen and juniors Meagan Ford and Kane Mara decorate their box as part of an activity for Interact Club’s Night In A Box on April 4. Photo by Jake Dobbs

By JAKE DOBBS

Duct tape was crinkled and slowly shelters for the night began to appear. Some were simple beds for one. Others were intricate structures for groups trying to brave the night.

On April 4, the Daniel Pearl Magnet High School’s (DPMHS) Interact Club hosted its first Night in a Box where participants spent one night outside in a cardboard box to understand more than just homeless living conditions.

Admission was $10, which covered dinner and the next morning’s breakfast. All funds raised were split evenly with the West Valley Food Pantry and DPMHS.

Participants were given some intact boxes and loose cardboard and were able to make whatever they desired.

“Everybody got together and used their imaginations,” sophomore Lauren Fritschi said.

The boxes were not the only highlight of the night. Raising awareness and pushing the importance of team-building was key.

There were multiple guest speakers representing various organizations. One of them being a non-profit called Cardborigami. Founding members Tina Housepian and Alex Yarijanian presented their effort to aid the homeless.

Housepian developed a temporary cardboard shelter based on origami. The shelters expand and contract, similar to an accordion, making them easy to transport and quick to set up or take down.

Another presenter was Ava Teherani, a representative of Living Praise Christian Center, who works with the church’s outreach program. She told stories of her one-on-one experiences with the homeless and what they have taught her.

“Ava was my favorite speaker because she was very intelligent and spoke from the heart,” Fritschi said.

The final presenter was Dr. Jorge Vazquez, a scientist working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL) in Pasadena.

While not directly related to homeless relief efforts, Vazquez has been in situations where teamwork is critical. He split the participators into small groups and gave a fictional situation based on a rocket with a sizable chance of failure.

The question, launch or not, made the groups work together and come to a conclusion even if their ideas conflicted with each other.