Have you ever wondered if you were owed any extra money? A local animal shelter was surprised to learn that they had a $200,000 donation waiting for them.
Orphans of the Storm has been in Riverwoods for nearly a century. Many people adore it, so much so that when a Lake County woman died, she left them hundreds of thousands of dollars in the form of a life insurance policy.
The problem was that the shelter was unaware, and the money remained unclaimed.
“There are people who think of organizations like Orphans of the Storm and want to leave something for them as a legacy,” said Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs.
“And those people are frequently humble; they do not come around and brag about it, and they do not tell people, ‘When I leave, I will give you hundreds of thousands of dollars.’ They do it quietly. And the problem is that sometimes it happens so quietly that no money is collected.”
That is why the treasurer’s office established the I-CASH program to locate missing funds and reunite them with their rightful owners.
The program recently completed a record Fiscal Year 2025, returning a staggering $303.8 million in missing funds to residents, businesses, and nonprofits.
Orphans of the Storm was among those who received a check this week as part of the celebration of the milestone.
“We were overjoyed,” said Board of Directors Michelle Shields. “Her legacy lives on in every animal that we rescue, care for, and place in loving homes.” This act of kindness is a powerful example of how one person’s compassion can spread throughout a community.”
She stated that the donation will go toward renovations and care for the nearly century-old facility.
