Jimmy John's manager creates Web site for scholarships

Nick Beardsley sat in a wooden chair inside Jimmy John's on Kirkwood Avenue and sagged his shoulders slightly. Beardsley, the burly, six-foot-tall assistant manager of the restaurant, recalled his unfruitful past attempts to get scholarships.\nBetween 1998 and 2001, Beardsley was an undergraduate student at IU studying financial accounting. During this period he applied for 20 different scholarships. He was awarded none of them. To fill the gap he worked part-time. It was then he began to see his grades decline.\n"I didn't feel really good about it," he said.\nWith the memory still fresh, Beardsley is trying to raise funds to offer scholarships for undergraduates in need. To achieve the goal, he privately runs a Web site named www.supportsomestudents.com. On the site, he calls for people to donate to a fund for scholarships. Half the funds will be divided into $2,500 checks and awarded to candidates who deserve them most. \n"The catch is that when donating, the donator has the opportunity to drive away with a new vehicle," he said. To encourage donations, he is offering a brand-new vehicle that he plans to buy with the donations he'll collect.\nBeardsley said online visitors donate through buying electronic tickets for $10. Donators are issued a ticket number that will function like a raffle number on Aug. 1, the day the Web site will pick the winner of a vehicle through a random selection by a computer. Beardsley said he he will pay for the delivery of a vehicle, but the recipient will foot the bill for taxes and title fees. \nBeardsley hopes to gather $50,000 in donations, he said, which he plans to spend to purchase a vehicle, sponsor eight to nine scholarships, and pay the cost of the Web site.\nIf donations don't reach the expected $50,000 mark, he will award 60 percent of the money in place of a car, and will distribute the rest as scholarships.\nChris Hamaker, area general manager for Jimmy John's, Beardsley's supervisor of six months, touts and supports the fundraising he believes will succeed. \nHe praised his colleague for a drive to help others. \n"For his age, he is unbelievable with such a good get-up-and-go he has," Mamaker said.\nSome students show skepticism on the way the fund operates, and Carrie Hanchar, junior, is one of them. \n"It sounds pretty fishy," Hanchar said. She will remain skeptical, until she learns details on the process to choose scholarship recipients and the motives behind the fundraising, she said.\n"It is like a raffle, but not," Beardsley said.\nHe will evaluate candidates to pick the most qualified, he said. Winners need a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, and should be active in community or school activities. \nBeardsley schedules to post detailed requirements and an application form online Aug. 1, he said. He expects to declare recipients online Aug. 30. \nBecause some find the project a bit doubtful, Beardsley said he is trying to win people's trust by "getting the words out there and convincing people it's not a shady operation, convincing people that I'm not walking home with lots of money." He said he has contacted several news media outlets, and is also drafting news releases for his Web site.\nBeardsley, with his white Jimmy John's apron hanging to his knees, explained his major motive behind the fundraising.\n"I hope to relieve a little stress for a couple of people," he said. \nHe understands the stress, Beardsley said. He hurriedly finished his Bachelor's degree in three years, in an effort to lighten his family's weight to support him financially, he said. Added to the compressed workload, he worked 12 to 20 hours a week to help fund his schooling. \n"My GPA suffered because of it," he said.\nAlso, his fundraising is to get a feeling of satisfaction, he said. \n"It is self-serving in fact that it will give me something to be proud of, something to show people that I've been productive," he said.\n "It's an experiment," he added.\n"I thought it was a unique idea." \nBeardsley said he will probably run the project again if it gathers $50,000 in donations this time. So far, from his family and friends he has sold 100 donation tickets, he said. \n"I'll hope for the best," he said.