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Image provided courtesy of Pennsylvania Treasury Department
High school football fans also find more than $25,000 of unclaimed property owed to them
Treasurer Stacy Garrity and ABC News’ Good Morning America teamed up to surprise Spring-Ford Area School District with a check for $231,057.39 worth of unclaimed property at halftime of the district’s state playoff football game on November 10.
“It’s always a thrill to return unclaimed property to its rightful owners,” Treasurer Garrity said. “Doing it in front of thousands of enthusiastic football fans added a whole new layer of excitement. I want to thank Spring-Ford Area School District and Good Morning America for being great partners to pull off this surprise return of more than $230,000 and helping us to return more than $25,000 in unclaimed property to unsuspecting football fans.”
“Fortunately, the Spring-Ford Area School District was the recipient of unclaimed funds,” said Spring-Ford Superintendent Robert Rizzo. “In our case, checks were mailed to a former tax collector in two separate instances but never made it to the school district. We were thrilled when we found out that GMA and the Treasury Department wanted to highlight the school district, and we were excited for the members of our community who would benefit as well. Fans who attended the football game could check their names on the spot, and because of the early publicity around the GMA segment, I’ve heard from many others in our community who didn’t attend the game but checked the Treasury website to check their status. As for the school district, we will be working with the School Board to determine how best to utilize the funds, and already have some unique ideas that would benefit our students, staff, and community.”
About 2,500 people attended the playoff game against Central Bucks South. Treasurer Garrity and GMA’s Ike Ejiochi were busy all evening long, returning $25,833.92 worth of unclaimed property to more than 120 attendees – including two people who received more than $5,000 each.
State Rep. Joe Ciresi, a strong proponent of the unclaimed property program and a former Spring-Ford school board director, was on hand to help return the funds.
“Many in the Spring-Ford community received pleasant surprises that evening – despite how the game turned out – thanks to the hard work of the PA Treasury,” Rep. Ciresi said. “I appreciate their proactive efforts to help the district and my constituents, as well as our ongoing cooperation in returning lost money back to its rightful owners.”
Spring-Ford’s administrative team will work with the School Board to determine how the money will be used.
“As the School Board President, I was pleased and surprised to learn that our district received a substantial check through the Unclaimed Funds program,” said Spring-Ford School Board President Erica Hermans. “This unexpected windfall will undoubtedly contribute to our ongoing efforts to enhance educational opportunities for our students. We are committed to working with our administrative team to ensure these funds are utilized responsibly to enrich the learning experience within our schools further. This unexpected boost will undoubtedly significantly impact our dedication to providing a high-quality education for all our students.”
Treasury is working to return more than $4.5 billion in unclaimed property to its rightful owners. About one in ten Pennsylvanians is owed unclaimed property, and the average claim is worth about $1,600.
To learn more about unclaimed property or to search Treasury’s database, visit patreasury.gov/unclaimed-
STACY GARRITY, STATE TREASURER
Information provided to TVL by:
Samantha Heckel
