Mr. Answerman and the Incredible Recycling Dog
www.TheCasualGardener.com presents -
Mr. Answerman and the Incredible
Recycling Dog is a story of how one man
can make a difference by educating the
community. Jim Kleinwachter's ongoing
dedication to conservation has made a
true difference for the rivers and natural
areas of his community.

(This is an excerpted feature from Shawna Coronado's
greening and better health book titled "Gardening Nude". To
learn more about the book, please go here:
www.thecasualgardener.com/Book.html -
Copyright 2008, Shawna Lee Coronado)

Now it's your turn - send suggestions,
motivational ideas, and comments to
share with the Live Smart Community at
LiveSmart@thecasualgardener.com.
Your comments will be posted at the end
of this story.
Copyright 2007 and 2008, The Casual Gardener, Inc., All Rights Reserved  
Privacy Policy By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Service.
Conservation In The Community – SCARCE Is Making A Difference!

This photo is of the SCARCE team at their volunteer not-for-profit book rescue facility.
This team has changed the face of the landfill crisis in the United States and made a global impact
helping others.
∞

(The below write-up is a condensed excerpt from a feature in Shawna Coronado's greening and better health book titled "Gardening Nude". To learn more
about the book, please go here: www.thecasualgardener.com/Book.html - Copyright 2008, Shawna Lee Coronado)

Kay McKeen and a large group of volunteers worked together to build SCARCE, a not-for-profit organization
based in DuPage County, Illinois, which has changed the lives of thousands of people worldwide.
When teachers began telling McKeen that books were being thrown into landfills, SCARCE stepped in with a
special book rescue program. McKeen and her team have rescued more than three million books and helped
educate thousands of needy individuals worldwide.

SCARCE instituted the Tools 4 Schools program through a grant provided by the Tellabs Foundation.
McKeen says, “Every year thousands of usable school products and office supplies, such as crayons, paper,
markers, and books, are thrown into landfills. The enormous negative impact this has on the environment is
devastating. We formed Tools 4 Schools to help the local community turn the negative into a positive.”

Super Crayons became a spin-off from the Tools 4 Schools program. Used or broken crayons are donated to
SCARCE, and then melted down to make "super crayons." The crayons are peeled, sorted, melted in a crock pot,
and poured into candle molds to form large crayons which are used by disabled children who have grasping
disabilities. Tens of thousands of Super Crayons have been made by volunteers and are distributed worldwide to
handicapped, visually impaired, and autistic children who needed a creative solution for grasping crayons.

Another example of this opportunistic thinking is the gym shoe rescue, a program in existence for more than ten
years. McKeen works with the Nike Grind Program whereby gym shoes are ground up and reused to make
playgrounds and other cool products to help children. She noticed that some shoes, which would not be accepted
by Nike Grind, were still in good condition, so she and her team started donating them to needy and homeless
individuals around the world. In 2008 SCARCE recycled 18,000 pairs of shoes through Nike Grind and distributed
9,000 pairs of shoes for reuse through several partner programs. Shoes went to an orphanage in Haiti, veterans in
the United States, homeless and disadvantaged individuals through Wayside Cross Church, and tothe Range of
Motion Project, among many other groups.

McKeen and her team volunteer tirelessly. They spend hundreds of hours annually meeting with and educating
city governments, church facilities, educational institutions of all levels, corporations, and individuals on
environmental concerns. The SCARCE team has taught dozens of local communities how to create and manage
“Recycling Extravaganzas.” These events are when organizations come together to collect large quantities of
recyclables. Recently, one community Recycling Extravaganza in Illinois collected over nine tons of scrap metal,
twelve tons of damaged books and cardboard for recycling, fifty-three tons of electronic recyclables, 450 cell
phones, 354 eyeglasses, 306 American flags, 332 bicycles, 340 gym shoes, and 228 car and boat batteries. The list
continues on to include paper, keys, clothing, and much more. This was the result of a one-day rescue drive.
Imagine how many recyclables could be rescued which are still sitting in the community's attics?

McKeen sees a future where everyone does his or her part to help the community be greener and more
environmentally friendly. “What I have learned is that recycling involves more than an industrial meltdown
process. It involves people who care about each other and their community. Giving back to the world can happen
on a large scale - globally - when you start to think with a ‘greener’ attitude locally. You can make a difference for
your community. You can make a difference for the citizens of Earth.
All it takes is a little effort!”

Get out in your community and make a difference like Kay McKeen has – help the world take back its natural
resources and go green by reducing, reusing, and recycling everything you can.

(This is a condensed excerpt from a feature in Shawna Coronado's greening and better health book titled "Gardening Nude". To learn
more about the book, please go here: www.thecasualgardener.com/Book.html - Copyright 2008, Shawna Lee Coronado)
Think Global, Act Local - one team brings this to life!
www.TheCasualGardener.com or Return To Live Smarter
Kay McKeen's team at SCARCE
makes a global impact. They are rescuing
items from American landfills, recycling
millions of books, and helping educate
children worldwide.

See how this small team has changed the
world one recycled item at a time.
- - - -

Now it's your turn - send suggestions,
motivational ideas, and comments to share
with the Live Smart Community at
LiveSmart@thecasualgardener.com.
Your comments will be posted
at the end of this story.
Copyright 2007 and 2008, The Casual Gardener, Inc., All Rights Reserved  
Privacy Policy By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Service.
Comment -
Kay and her team are AMAZING! How can I contact SCARCE? - signed - Patty R.

Reply -
Contact SCARCE at www.bookrescue.org, or email ecoed@sbcglobal.net, or call 630-545-9710   
This is where you, the reader, can share and make a big difference for others.

Send suggestions, motivational ideas, and comments to share with the Live Smart
Community at LiveSmart@thecasualgardener.com. Your comments will be posted at the
end of this story and will be anonymous unless you wish otherwise.

Let's see if we can help others make a difference in their communities too!
COMMENTS - MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Comment -
Which person in the photo is Kay? - signed - GomezToGo96

Reply - Volunteers at the library warehouse room at SCARCE headquarters in DuPage County, Illinois include
from left to right, Whitney Gould, intern from Augustana, Brittney Graham, intern form University of Iowa,
Cory Coffman, intern from Carroll University, Linda Knapp, SCARCE educator, Janet LeWald, SCARCE
newsletter editor, and Kay McKeen, Manager of SCARCE.