Morning Sentinel
Alfond scholarships a first in U.S.
By GARY REMAL
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 12/12/2007

AUGUSTA -- Belgrade philanthropist Harold Alfond never graduated from college and he dreamed for years of making a college education a part of every Maine child's life, his son Bill Alfond said.

On Tuesday, the foundation formed by the elder Alfond, who died last month at the age of 93, announced it would award $500 scholarships to every child born in Maine.

It is the first program of its kind in the United States, officials said, and will benefit an estimated 14,000 Maine families annually at current Maine birth rates.

The program will be launched next year at MaineGeneral Health's hospitals in Augusta and Waterville. It will expand statewide after Jan. 1, 2009.

MaineGeneral Health President Scott Bullock said the program will provide scholarships to about 1,400 children whose parents agree to start a tax-free state account to save for college.

Bill Alfond, one of four children, said the program is "the fulfillment of a dream" for his father.

His father handed out millions of dollars to a variety of schools, hospitals and other worthy causes during his lifetime, his son said.

But the new Harold Alfond College Challenge could become his father's crowning achievement.

"This has the seeds to be the greatest of his life," he said. "It has to be measured and it will take some time to work out. But it will benefit young families and the state of Maine if we work at it."

The program is being funded with an initial contribution of about $150 million of the retired industrialist's fortune.

Jennifer Rackliff, an Augusta mother who plans to give birth to her fourth child at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta in January, told an audience of dignitaries Tuesday that she and her husband, Jeremy, were grateful for the jump-start to their child's education fund.

"Education is so important, I can't think of a greater gift than starting to save for a college education," Rackliff said. "For myself and my family, and many other Maine families, I'm sure, I just want to say, 'Thank you.' "

In recent years, the number of Maine high school graduates going to college has been dropping, said Lisa Plimpton, director of research for the Sen. George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute in Portland.

And Maine lags behind the nation and the rest of New England.

The most recent national statistics for 2004 show 50 percent of Maine high school graduates entering college after graduation, compared with 56 percent nationally and 59 percent across New England, Plimpton said.

The number of Maine students dropped from 55 percent in 1998 to 54 percent in 2000, to 51 percent in 2002 and 50 percent in 2004, she said.

Members of Alfond's family and foundation were joined by Gov. John Baldacci and other state officials Tuesday to announce the plan

"It is not being done anywhere else," Baldacci said. "It's a first-in-the-nation program. It will have a visible effect over generations."

The governor pointed out that the state already provides $50 for each Mainer towards college. With that and Alfond's scholarship alone in the Finance Authority of Maine's NextGen federal "529" savings plan, a child at college age will have more than $2,000 for further education at any accredited school.

The program seeks to encourage parents and employers to contribute to the savings accounts, as well. With a monthly contribution of $50, by the time a child reaches college age, they would have accumulated about $25,000, Interim FAME CEO Elizabeth Bordowitz said. The maximum allowed to be sheltered under federal law is $320,000, she said.

Taxes are exempt on any expenditures used for higher education, she explained.

Greg Powell, chairman of the Harold Alfond Foundation Board, said the former shoe manufacturer and founder of Dexter Shoe left much more of his estate to the foundation to ensure it could cover future increases in demand and for other projects.

He said the bulk of Alfond's fortune will be devoted to his new foundation, but he refused to say how much more money Alfond's final contribution will total until after his estate is settled.

"Harold Alfond believed that every child in the 21st century should have aspirations and access to higher education," Powell said. "He was fond of saying, 'Our children are the future.'

"This past summer here in Maine, the last summer of his remarkable life, Harold Alfond looked out over Great Pond of the Belgrade Lakes and asked, 'What more can I do to help the children of this state?'"

Powell said Alfond had made a tradition of giving $500 to the parents of each child born in his own family with a note asking that the money be used to start saving for college.

The Alfond College Challenge seeks to expand that tradition to all the children in the state while at the same time encouraging their parents and other companies and foundations to build on the investment toward the future.

Gary Remal -- 621-5642

gremal@centralmaine.com

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Reader comments

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Ric Arnold of West Melbourne, FL
Dec 12, 2007 9:05 PM
Thank you Mr. Alfond though belated. It's the best news I've heard come out of Maine in a long time. Usually, it's taxes, and more taxes needed to fund programs after programs which are poorly run with no accountability in Augusta. Thank you again Mr. Alfond and family for this wonderful gift to our children of Maine. Money I am sure will be well spent for those who wish to participate. It's a good start...hope it leads others to join this wonderful foundation in helping Maine children. Mr. Alfond was correct, "Our children are the future." report abuse
2Cents of Oakland, ME
Dec 12, 2007 9:25 AM
Mr Alfond was simply amazing. I hope this starts a trend with parents to save toward this lofty goal. Some young parents are too short sighted and or broke to save. I wish I would have saved even a little for my kids over the years, (it adds up after awhile) and they would not have to pay back so many school loans. report abuse
me of Rockwood, ME
Dec 12, 2007 7:22 AM
That will be a good jumpstart for my granddaughter. Mr. Alfond was just amazing. To bad more affluent people wouldn't do the same. Thank you to Mr. Alfond and to the Alfond family following his wishes.report abuse
Slave of China, ME
Dec 12, 2007 7:16 AM
This is a small payback to the way he treated his workers whom on their backs he made all his money.report abuse

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