It's much tougher than it used to be for young Americans to make their financial way in the world, given the increasing cost of college and the challenge of finding a job.

So it's no surprise that many parents and other family members choose to smooth the way if they can, going into debt themselves to help pay for college and putting off their own retirement savings to help children in their 20s with health insurance, rent and other expenses.

As I mentioned briefly in my column last week, the descendants of a farm family from Illinois have an entirely different way of providing an assist to the next generation -- a no-interest loan fund that assists family members who need help paying for educational expenses.

Many of you wrote to me wanting to know more about how it worked. Others reached out directly to 82-year-old George Lewis, the Quincy, Ill., lawyer who helped draw up the agreement that governs the loan fund, the Hersman Andrews Lewis Scholarship Trust.

"I got several calls," he said. "I've been surprised that no one ever heard of the idea."

The Hersman Andrews Lewis fund was started by a grandmother, though today it's a trust and a handful of trustees consider loan applications and make decisions through a majority vote.

Applicants can use loan proceeds for college at the undergraduate or graduate level or for a vocational education that leads to a certificate or license. Expenses for tuition, books, fees or room and board are all eligible.

The loans are no larger than $5,000 per academic year or $10,000 in total at any one time. The balance of the fund is partly in safe, low-yielding accounts, though the trustees also made a bridge loan to older family members who were downsizing to a retirement condo from a larger house.

In 42 years, the fund has made 114 loans totaling more than $169,000.