By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – While it may seem a bit early to think about sending newborns to college, Maine babies and their families will have the opportunity next Thursday to receive a $500 grant that will go toward their college education.
A “Future Faces of Maine” Casting Call will be held Sept. 30 from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at the Aroostook Centre Mall in Presque Isle. The casting call event not only helps search for fresh Maine baby faces for advertising the Harold Alfond College Challenge Grant program, but gives all eligible Maine babies and their families the chance to receive help completing the application for the $500 grant.
Alfond was a philanthropist and founder of Dexter Shoe Co.
The $500 Alfond Grant is available to all Maine babies when a NextGen College Investing Plan® account is opened by their first birthday. At the casting calls, Maine babies under the age of one will receive a free professional portrait and may have their picture appear in future Harold Alfond College Challenge advertising. Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) staff will be on hand with information and to provide assistance in completing the enrollment form for families interested in the $500 grant.
“Mr. Alfond hoped that by offering this start for all Maine babies that others would help with the pursuit of higher education,” said Elizabeth Vanderweide, Harold Alfond College Challenge program manager. “So, while making additional contributions isn’t required to receive the grant, we do hope families and others will also invest in these children’s futures.”
According to 2007 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, those who complete an associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree earn more than those with only a high school diploma. In Maine, there is a $300 wage difference in average weekly income between a high school graduate, who averages $606 per week, and a worker with a bachelor’s degree who averages $901 per week.
A 2005 U.S. Department of Education survey of Maine public high school students indicated that nearly 72 percent planned to go on to higher education. But, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, costs increased 30 percent between 1998 and 2008 at public institutions and 23 percent at private schools after adjustment for inflation. In the face of rising tuition, financial planning helps reduce the challenge of financing a degree or professional certification.
Casting call events held last fall and earlier this year attracted more than 1,300 Maine babies and assisted in the opening of nearly 1,000 NextGen® accounts to receive the $500 grant. There are over 5,800 babies already participating in the program. There are no income limits and no contributions are required to receive the $500 grant. Funds in the NextGen account may be used to pay for qualified higher education expenses at any accredited post-secondary school, including four-year and two-year public and private colleges, certificate programs, trade schools, and even graduate schools.
To learn more about the Harold Alfond College Challenge, please visit www.500forbaby.org.
