DuPage County Board members accepted a $1,000,000 donation to DuPage County Animal Services from DuPage Animal Friends and approved a $1,000,000 increase to the county's phase‑2 capital grant for the new animal services facility. The donation was announced at the County Board meeting on Aug. 12, 2025.

The gift was presented by Jennifer Martin, president of DuPage Animal Friends, who said, "On behalf of DuPage County Animal Friends, it is with great pride that we stand before the DuPage County Board and our community today to present to DuPage County Animal Services for their capital campaign a check for $1,000,000." The board later approved a fiscal resolution (FIR0128-25) to increase the DuPage Animal Friends phase‑2 capital project grant from $4,850,000 to $5,850,000.

The donation and appropriation come as county animal services staff told the board that the shelter remains strained. An animal services staff member said the shelter currently houses "over a 135 cats" and described the seasonal increase in kittens; staff brought a two-month-old kitten named Toad to the meeting as an example. The staff member also described cases in which the county's Positive Pathways program provides temporary boarding and medical care when owners must be hospitalized, including two small poodles recently brought in after a Downers Grove police intervention.

Brian Kajewski, chair of the county's Animal Services Committee, and Member Dawn Desart highlighted the role of the DuPage Animal Friends foundation in fundraising for construction and ongoing operations. Kajewski said the foundation historically helped pay medical costs and later supported construction of the county's new facility; Martin said a substantial portion of the $1 million donation derived from the estate of Donna Ginger Jelf, a longtime Villa Park resident.

Finance Chair Member Garcia moved the resolution to accept and appropriate the additional $1,000,000 to the phase‑2 capital grant (FIR0128-25). The funding increase was included on the consent agenda approved by the board at the meeting.

The board and staff said the new facility has already supported outreach and adoption efforts, and that the donation is intended to reduce outstanding construction costs and help sustain operations. Animal services staff urged residents to adopt and to support programs that address the shelter's high cat population.

The county did not provide a timeline for how the additional grant funding will be spent in the meeting record. The donation and appropriation were announced during the awards and consent sections of the Aug. 12 meeting and will be reflected in the minutes and subsequent fiscal reports.