PORTLAND —  The Alfond Scholarship Foundation has announced that more than $23 million has been committed to fund the $500 Harold Alfond College Challenge Grant for eligible Maine resident babies.

One year ago, on the 100th Anniversary of Harold Alfond’s birth, the Foundation announced that retroactive to Jan. 1, 2013, it would invest a $500 Alfond Grant for every baby born a Maine resident, for his or her future higher education expenses.

As of the end of February, the Foundation has committed the $500 Alfond Grant to more than 46,000 children.