A scholarship program sponsored by a local business is back. Jimmy beans wool, a yarn and accessories store in Reno, has awarded more than $50,000 through their Beans for Brains scholarship program so far. The money is for deserving students with an interest in creating. There are six scholarships worth $2,500 each.
"It's basically for someone who loves yarn," said Jimmy Beans Wool Founder Laura Zander. "Whether they weave, they knit, they crochet, and then it's merit based. There's a little bit of essay work in there; we want to know why art is important to them."
Jimmy Beans Wool has grown over the last 15 years to become a destination.
"Most of our traffic that comes in is actually destination traffic," Zander said. "So we get people from all over the world that will fly into San Francisco and drive to Reno just to come to the shop."
The store started sponsoring the scholarship years ago.
"I paid my way through college so it was very important to me that people who work really hard to get good grades, but maybe can't afford all the things they need in school, have an outlet," Zander said.
The Jimmy Beans team says it's a way to help deserving, artistic students, and a way to give back.
"This business wouldn't be what it is without the Reno community," Zander said. "And so that's one of the reasons it is so important to have this scholarship program and to focus on doing more and more locally, because this community has given back to us in so many ways I can't even describe, the business community especially."
For more information, including applications, visit: https://www.jimmybeanswool.com/details/knitting/scholarshipHome.asp
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