Danville Treasury helping residents reclaim lost financial assets

DANVILLE, Va. ( WFXR ) — People work hard to earn their money, but there’s also money out there that often gets forgotten or neglected through time. The Danville Department of the Treasury is here to help its citizens rescue that money.

It is hosting its bi-annual virtual call event on Thursday, July 11, and Friday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., to help anyone interested in seeing if they have any unclaimed property worth financial compensation.

“I enjoy helping individuals find money,” Sheila Williamson-Branch , Danville’s city treasurer, said. “We are the Treasurer’s office, and we collect (money) of course, but I don’t have a problem helping people find money that they’re entitled to.”

This event started in Danville back in 2019 and on average, officials say between 500 and 1,000 people participate annually. Since its beginning, a total of over $1,000,000 in unclaimed property has been recovered from them.

The Treasurer’s Office partners with the Virginia Department of the Treasury to assist people with this event. The two departments have created a special phone number for this event, that anyone can call. If someone in Danville calls, they will be redirected to someone from the state department to help them.

“Our team will take the caller’s name, and we will basically say, ‘unclaimed property, your first and last name,’ and you will give us your first and last name to search our system,” Diana Shaban , the PR and Marketing Manager for the Virginia Treasury department said. “If you have something, we’ll ask you a couple of questions, ‘Did you live in this city,’ ‘Did you live on this street,’ and if you do have unclaimed property with us, we will actually create the claim for you.”

People can also visit the Virginia money search website, and follow the instructions.

This event can be done by anyone in the state of Virginia. As long as they follow the instructions, someone in Roanoke, Lynchburg, Richmond, or anywhere else can find out if they have any valuable assets.

Money like this isn’t supposed to get lost, so Williamson-Branch urges people to stay on top of their financial records.

“Don’t just look that one time, or that second time,” she said. “Check periodically throughout the year and check every year, because you just never know what may be sitting out there.”

This event will operate from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. For more information and to participate in the event, call the event toll-free phone number at 1-833-302-0704. You can also visit the Virginia Department of the Treasury’s website .

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