BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day, and with this mantra the Night Ninjas serve up delicious snacks twice a week at their Pancake Breakfasts.
Every Wednesday and Thursday morning from 6.30am, the group are at Redland Bay Marina serving up choc brownies and pancakes as they have done since 2022.
“We serve 80 students usually,” Gary from Night Ninjas said.
“We usually go through about eight containers of pancake mix, and we’ve broken it into the ninth – so it’s probably getting up to the 90 students.
“It hits its peak quickly because we cater to the kids coming from the islands.
“And it’s not a growing thing because there’s only a limited number of people on the islands.
“So, it’ll stay at that level unless there’s the influx of kids living on the islands.”
It’s the compassion and community spirit for which the Night Ninjas are renowned that has driven two years of the Pancake Breakfasts.
“We really enjoy it –it’s great on several levels,” Gary said.
“It’s always great to get out in the community and do stuff for others.
“It’s great for Kim (Richards) because she’s really big on putting back into the community.
“I do it on Wednesdays and we have two to three volunteers on a Thursday from Ninjas – we all enjoy helping out other people.”
Beginning with a thought that they could put the Night Ninjas van to more use, “pancake master” Gary was chatting with long-time supporter and Member for Redlands Kim Richards, who was looking for ways to help the kids arriving for school on the mainland.
With that the Pancake Breakfasts were born and last year a staggering 20,000 pancakes were served up by the Night Ninjas team.
Ms Richards spoke highly of the organisation.
“I’m a huge fan of the Night Ninjas’ work, they do an incredible job in supporting our community and particularly those Redlanders in need of a helping hand,” she said.
“The Night Ninjas are incredibly dedicated volunteers that are so well connected. They all are very generous with their time to help others in our community, and we are blessed for their service.”
Ms Richards sponsors the Thursday morning breakfast while Redlands bus company TransDev sponsors Wednesday.
