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Volunteer spotlight: Meet the Carollo family
Dec 04 2020
When SCARCE modified its volunteer program due to the pandemic, Laura – a volunteer since June 2019 — realized there were more ways she could help during these challenging times. She sprung into action and enlisted her entire family. They helped with reuse and recycling projects at home…and had some fun along the way.
Here is what they did:
- Early on, Laura’s husband and two sons removed metal and cardboard from broken binders. Separating these materials allows them to be recycled. The Carollo family even discovered a new way to remove the metal from the broken binders, using a drill press!
- After that, they organized a crayon collection. They posted on Facebook and received about 60 lbs of crayons in two weeks. Then, to help with SCARCE’s Super Crayon Project, they sorted and peeled crayons together as a family.
- Laura realized there were a lot of crayons at SCARCE that still needed sorting and peeling, so she started bringing those crayons home and set up a two-person sorting station in her garage. Friends would come over for coffee and sort crayons outside while they chatted – it was even more fun than sitting at a coffee shop.
- Then, Laura started recycling the broken crayon pieces in her garage…and things got crazy! The neighborhood kids would come over to her garage to sort while she made crayons. Her book club came over to help smooth the edges from newly made recycled crayons, giving them a polished look. Laura’s mother-in-law got involved too.
- Most recently, Laura and her family wrapped activity books that SCARCE will be providing to kids in need during the holidays.
Laura says that she is glad to be able to help and that working on the crayons is soothing.
“I am a very orderly person and, in this time of chaos, it brings me satisfaction to be able to see a tangible result to my efforts.”
The crayons produced by the Carollo family will benefit children with special needs and local students in many ways — improving hand-eye coordination, sparking creativity, and lifting spirits. By reusing and recycling valuable materials, the Carollo family also conserved natural resources and prevented pollution. Thank you for all of your efforts to help people and the planet!
Materials from broken binders being prepared for recycling 
Using the drill press to remove metal 
60 lbs of crayons sorted and peeled 
The two person work station in the garage 
Trimming crayons together 
Assembly line of recycled crayons 
Organizing the new crayons 
A beautiful set of crayons made from broken crayon pieces