Internet “lemonade stands”
If the “Save Karyn” Web site can collect more than $16,000 to help its 20-year-old subject pay off her $20,000 credit card debt, heck, Texas A&M sophomore Nick Howard should have a good shot with his cyber begging. He wants help with college tuition.
Karyn’s the woman who used MasterCard, Visa and the others to run up bills on clothing, restaurant outings and other luxury items and this summer made a mass appeal to Web travelers to bail her out. The site, www.savekaryn.com, has experienced record traffic since it launched, and Karyn is getting close to her goal to be debt-free.
The way Nick sees it, his cause is more noble. Donate money to help fund his college education, and Nick promises he will pay back the world with a successful career, and as a bonus, a fruitful life.
“When I heard about the Karyn story, how she had used her plastic to buy Gucci shoes and Starbucks coffee, and realized that here I am a struggling student trying to make a life for myself. I thought, �I can ask for help,퀌_” Nick said.
With support from his college buddies and a Web page designer, the 2001 graduate of Richardson High School in Richardson, Texas, launched SendNick2College.com last month.
Since enrolling at A&M last year, he’s been paying his own way toward a degree in sports management using college loans and working during the summer at Home Depot to pay for books and other expenses.
It’s not like Nick’s living high on the hog. The 19-year-old stays in the cheapest dorm on campus, 80 guys on his floor, two bathrooms, about four showers. The long lines have made him a better man, he says.
“I’m not living in luxury here,” he said. “I don’t do wild partying. I don’t want the money to buy beer. Any assistance, even a quarter from every visitor to my Web site, will help.”
He was struck by Karyn’s boldness.
“I mean, that took nerve,” he said. “And it’s amazing how many people responded.”
The Karyn story is a startling one, considering there are students in college struggling for the bare essentials, not to mention people starving in this country, he says.
Contrary to what the world believes 퀌_ that college kids today expect it to all be taken care of by Mom and Dad 퀌_ Nick says he’s finding many hardworking students who are financing their education. His older sister Emily, who attends the University of Texas at Arlington, is working her way through school.
Nick’s parents are lukewarm on the Web site idea, he says. He explained to them that he’s not setting himself up as a charity case.
“I think of me as (being) a good investment in the future,” he said.
Nick’s mom, Cathy Brannum of Dallas, cautiously supports the online fund-raising effort. “It’s a good idea if the IRS is OK with it,” she says. Nick reassures her that he plans to be tax-responsible.
His is a one-man show with no slick handlers or Web master. The overhead would run counter to his purpose. The Texas Aggie manages his own site, and through word of mouth on campus his cause has captured the attention of at least two nearby TV stations and a radio station.
The low profile is working. As of Sept. 20, after five days of online begging, the counter was up to more than $250 in donations. His goal is $40,000.
If you want to help, go to SendNick2College.com and click on donations. For you Karyns out there, don’t worry, Nick provides PayPal for credit-card pledges.
