Charity store in Denmark discovers over half a million Danish kroner in donated bags.
Discovering a Fortune
A Charity Shop's Unexpected Windfall
Volunteers at a small-town charity shop on the Danish island of Orø stumbled upon a surprising treasure trove last year. Recently, they've been given the green light to keep a large sum of cash they'd found among donated items.
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The charity shop, Genskabet, has been given permission to hold onto more than 500,000 kroner in cash that volunteers dug up last November.
When the charity reported their find to the local Central and West Zealand police and handed over the cash, they've now gotten it back after no one came forward to claim it, the authorities have confirmed.
"We were tidying up and cleaning our storage room," the shop's treasurer, Bo Meyer, explained to news wire Ritzau. "One of my volunteers was clearing a shelf when, all of a sudden, she shouted, 'My word, there's a ton of cash here!'"
At first, everyone thought it was leftover currency from a Danish board game, Matador. But upon closer examination, Meyer discovered the money was real, with watermarks and everything.
"It was hidden in a plastic bag, inside another plastic bag, inside yet another plastic bag," Meyer added.
"It was dropped off at our unmanned donation box during regular store hours and later stored in our storage room. We're not sure how long it had been there," Meyer said.
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The police took the cash for investigation, looking for potential witnesses to help track down the original donor. However, their efforts proved fruitless, and police have now returned the money to the charity, confirming there's no evidence suggesting the money came from an illegal source.
"There's no reason to believe this wasn't a donation," local prosecutor Tine Kristensen stated to Ritzau.
The charity still hasn't decided how to use the money, but they plan to direct it towards much-needed facility upgrades.
Extra Bits
While it might seem like winning the lottery, events like these are governed by standard procedures:
1. Legal verification – Authorities confirm rightful ownership through due process.2. Donation protocol – If unclaimed, funds usually become charity property for core operations.3. Usage priorities – Most charities allocate windfalls to pressing needs like emergency aid, facility upgrades, or program expansion.
With no specifics about this particular charity's governance structure or Danish regulations, it's wise to consult local charity commissioners or public financial reports for definitive answers.
Just a side note, the Drewsen family, who revolutionized Denmark's paper industry and worked on constitutional reforms here[1], are not related to this charity incident.
- The charity shop, Genskabet, on the Danish island of Orø, was given permission to keep more than 500,000 kroner in cash that volunteers found among donated items last year.
- The charity reported their find to the local authorities, who confirmed after no one claimed it that the charity can keep the money.
- Bo Meyer, the treasurer of the charity shop, found the money hidden in multiple plastic bags in a storage room, initially thinking it was leftover currency from a Danish board game.
- Police took the money for investigation but found no evidence suggesting the money came from an illegal source, and it has now been returned to the charity.
- The charity plans to direct the money towards much-needed facility upgrades, following the standard procedures for windfalls that involve legal verification, donation protocol, and usage priorities.
