Brown Button Estate Sales and ScrapsKC are teaming up for the second annual Bid for a Cause online auction—turning more than 50 donated items and experiences into support for Kansas City teachers and students.
Bidding is open now through Thursday, September 17, with artwork, jewelry, handmade quilts, local goods, experiences and one-of-a-kind finds donated by Kansas City artists, makers, businesses and community members.
100% of funds from the auction go to ScrapsKC, a Kansas City nonprofit working to provide teachers and students with the materials they need while keeping useful resources out of landfills.
For Brown Button, this year’s goal is simple: build on the success of last year’s auction and raise even more for an organization making a tangible difference in Kansas City.
ScrapsKC: Creativity With a Purpose
ScrapsKC was founded in 2016 by former teacher Brenda Mott around an idea that was both practical and ambitious: useful materials shouldn’t go to waste when there are people in the community who need them.
Today, ScrapsKC operates a creative reuse center where donated art, craft, school, office and textile supplies are collected and made available for reuse. Instead of heading to the landfill, these materials find their way into classrooms, homes, studios and creative projects throughout Kansas City.
Environmental sustainability is only part of the organization’s mission.
ScrapsKC also works to provide resources and opportunities to children and families while supporting educators who often spend their own money supplying their classrooms.
One of the most direct ways ScrapsKC does that is through its Teacher Resource Center.
Eligible educators from across the Kansas City metro can access free classroom supplies, helping teachers stretch limited budgets while giving students the materials they need to participate, create and learn. The program serves eligible educators in Cass, Clay, Platte and Jackson counties in Missouri and Wyandotte and Johnson counties in Kansas.
The reach of that program continues to grow.
In 2025, ScrapsKC’s support benefited more than 700 teachers serving at least 25,000 students. In 2026, the organization reports demand trending toward twice as many teachers serving more than 49,000 students.
That need extends beyond pencils, paper and traditional classroom supplies. ScrapsKC also helps connect educators with resources for students experiencing poverty and homelessness, including clothing, toiletries and other necessities. In 2026, the Teacher Resource Center also became a Harvesters Food+ partner agency, expanding the resources teachers can access for students in need.
The impact is practical and immediate: donated resources become classroom materials, teachers spend less out of pocket, and more students have access to the tools they need at school.
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
This year’s Bid for a Cause auction is part of a particularly meaningful year for ScrapsKC as the organization celebrates its 10th anniversary.
On September 17, ScrapsKC will host its annual Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? fundraiser at the Rumely Historic Event Space in Kansas City.
The event brings adults back to the classroom for an evening of dinner, drinks and elementary-school trivia—all while raising money to support ScrapsKC’s programs.
Teams compete to see whether they can still answer the questions they once encountered in grade school, making for an evening that’s intentionally lighthearted while supporting a serious purpose.
This year’s overall fundraising campaign has set a $60,000 goal to help ScrapsKC continue providing resources to teachers, students and the Kansas City community.
Brown Button’s Bid for a Cause auction gives supporters another way to contribute, including those who can’t attend the September 17 event.
A Partnership That Makes Sense
There is also something fitting about an estate sale company partnering with an organization dedicated to creative reuse.
At Brown Button, we’re constantly reminded that value is often a matter of perspective.
A piece of furniture one family no longer needs becomes exactly what someone else has been searching for. Artwork finds a new wall. Collections find new collectors. Objects move from one home and one chapter of their history into the next.
ScrapsKC takes that idea in an entirely different, and incredibly impactful, direction.
Materials that could easily be overlooked or discarded become classroom supplies, art projects and creative possibilities.
Both organizations understand the value of taking a second look.
Sometimes what appears to have reached the end of its usefulness is simply waiting for the right person to see what comes next.
And this September, that idea comes full circle.
Bid, Win and Help Us Beat Last Year’s Total
Brown Button’s inaugural ScrapsKC benefit auction in 2025 featured 17 lots, and every one sold, generating $2,775 in winning bids for ScrapsKC.
This year, the auction has grown to more than 50 lots, and we’re setting our sights higher.
The 2026 Bid for a Cause – ScrapsKC Benefit Fundraiser is open now, with artwork, jewelry, handmade pieces, local goods, and plenty of unexpected finds.
100% of the funds from the auction go to ScrapsKC, helping the organization continue putting resources into the hands of Kansas City teachers and students.
Last year, bidders raised $2,775.
This year, help us beat it.
Browse the auction. Find your favorite. Place your bid.
Bidding closes Thursday, September 17.
Find something worth taking home and help ScrapsKC put something valuable into a Kansas City classroom at the same time,
