While two-thirds of women say high tuition is a barrier to enrolling in college, compared to less than half of men, according to a Gallup poll , a South Bay woman has found a creative way to help bridge the gap.

When you shop at the Nearly New Shop thrift store in Sunnyvale, Lois Christopherson says you're doing something good.

"We can make a difference for the world," she said.

For years, sales at the 67-year-old shop supported a retirement home for a women's nonprofit called the Philanthropic Educational Organization . But when the PEO home closed in 2006, Christopherson came up with the idea to use the shop's profits to help women attend college.

"I realized with as much as we were making and as much joy that people experienced working at the shop that a scholarship program wa

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