By Valerie Hardy 

Kay McKeen of Wheaton has been proudly “talking trash” for over three decades. Founder and executive director of SCARCE – a nonprofit organization committed to environmental education, conservation, and literacy – McKeen’s mission is to “turn trash into treasures,” keeping as much waste as possible out of landfills while getting as many books as possible into the hands of students and teachers in need.

How SCARCE Started

McKeen’s background is in physical therapy, but environmentalism is in her blood. She recalled how three generations of her family, herself included, “really hated waste.” Her two grandmothers “kept everything. One even saved banana peels, which she then boiled and used to water her roses,” she shared.

A conservationist at heart, McKeen had long enacted the mantra “little things add up” regarding her personal impact on the environment, but it wasn’t until 1990 that she began to spread this message. She started teaching students in DuPage County schools about recycling and other environmental concerns. While visiting schools, she noticed countless unused books in classrooms or storage destined for a landfill. In response, she started the Book Rescue program to transfer these texts to under-resourced schools and students.

Increasing the Impact

McKeen explained, “If I’m not working, I’m reading or researching,” which contributed to SCARCE’s rapid growth. The nonprofit opened a warehouse – which doubled as a store – in Glen Ellyn, where community members and businesses could donate items rather than throw them away.

SCARCE functions like a resale shop, with one side open to the public and the other reserved for educators and representatives of nonprofit organizations. Donated items are available for purchase at inexpensive prices. For example, McKeen shared that five educators from an Illinois town “with no Target and no library” recently left SCARCE with over 930 books for only $40.

Before donated items are shelved, SCARCE staff and volunteers evaluate their condition. “We want things that are clean, safe, and working,” McKeen explained.

SCARCE’s “Puzzle Posse” volunteers take home donated puzzles to check for missing pieces. School supplies, instruments, and other items must be in “good enough condition for my grandkids to be on the shelf,” McKeen said.

Many items with missing pieces or other imperfections are repurposed as art supplies. Crayons without tips or wrappers are melted in various-shaped molds and made into “super crayons,” which are donated to nonprofits like the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation or purchased by teachers.

Items ineligible for reuse or resale due to water or smoke damage or exposure to toxins are recycled at SCARCE’s expense.

A New Home

Due to an influx of donations and an increase in volunteers, SCARCE outgrew its 7,000-square-foot Glen Ellyn location and moved to a nearly 19,000-square-foot space in Addison in 2020. McKeen is grateful that it is accessible and has many windows, unlike the prior location. “Environmentalists without windows is a problem!” she quipped.

Another celebrated attribute of the Addison space is a large classroom dedicated to environmental education.

Taking the Show on the Road

While student groups enjoy visiting SCARCE, environmental educators also travel to schools. SCARCE customizes programming to fit schools’ needs, but the “goal is always environmental education…hands-on learning, and fun!” McKeen said.

SCARCE also brings learning and literacy to the community via its Literacy at the Laundromat program; laundromats are outfitted with a bookcase filled with books, so “we can meet kids where they are,” McKeen said.

Paying It Forward

SCARCE helps run an annual Sustainable Design Challenge for DuPage County high schoolers. Students submit and present sustainable design projects, which are judged in various categories by professionals from environmental design fields.

McKeen also extends SCARCE’s impact by mentoring interns interested in conservation, sustainability, and environmental education. To date, SCARCE has had more than 40 interns in what McKeen calls
her “posse.”

“These extraordinary young people make me hopeful about the future,” she said.

The People Behind the Projects

SCARCE employs six full-time and four part-time staff members, and approximately 115 volunteers contribute in various capacities.

McKeen’s husband volunteers almost daily, and her daughter is SCARCE’s chief operating officer. All five of McKeen’s grandchildren and numerous other family members and friends have also volunteered at SCARCE. “Nobody can run a nonprofit without all hands on deck,” McKeen said.

SCARCE also relies on donations from and partnerships with corporations and community organizations. The Hinsdale Public Library donated some furniture at SCARCE, and the baskets available for shoppers came courtesy of Trader Joe’s in Downers Grove. SCARCE works with numerous villages to run holiday light recycling programs and annual pumpkin smash events as well.

A Global Impact

SCARCE supports approximately 300 nonprofit organizations and hundreds of teachers each year. While SCARCE is based in DuPage County, its reach is much broader. SCARCE has provided aid to every state in the U.S. and to 115 countries. For example, McKeen and her team have provided multiple shipments of supplies to schools on the Navajo Nation and Pine Ridge reservations and helped start a school in Costa Rica. McKeen shared that the founder of a Nigerian nonprofit school comes to SCARCE twice a year for supplies.

Law & Policy

McKeen and SCARCE also create environmental ripples through advocacy for eco-friendly laws. Since 2004, they have contributed to 12 pieces of legislation. Among these are the Mercury Fever Thermometer Prohibition, Smoke Free Illinois, Excessive Idling, and Food Donation Acts. McKeen is currently advocating for a state ban on the sale or manufacture of garden hoses containing lead.

How to be Part of the Progress

Whether through volunteering, donating, or recycling, SCARCE encourages everyone to join its mission to create a cleaner, greener world – one where books are readily accessible.

Visit scarce.org for more information.

The classroom at SCARCE provides students with a rich environment in which to learn about environmental issues.

SCARCE loans its blue education boards to libraries and businesses to help raise environmental awareness.

The price is right for the gently used goods resold at SCARCE.