Meredith’s Miracles chairperson June Simpson said Monday that the charity’s Valentine’s Day fund-raiser was a tremendous success, raising more than $12,000 for the local non-profit organization.

Meredith’s Miracles is a local charity that helps pay for the traveling expenses, meals and other non-medical expenses for families who have to travel outside of the Andalusia area for necessary children’s medical treatment. The charity’s recent Valentine’s Day fund-raiser included the sale of candy sundaes, Chrissie Schubert’s cookies and other novelty-type items.

“We probably brought in about $16,000 total from our sales,” Simpson said. “When you take out expenses, that’s probably around $12,000 left over. I’m pretty sure this is our best year ever for the fund-raiser.”

Simpson said Chrissie Schubert’s cookies were extremely popular, and that the charity plans to “have twice as many cookies next year.” She also said customers were excited about the build-a-basket, which allowed patrons to fill a Valentine’s basket with a variety of items of their choice.

“We probably sold close to 700 sundaes total, and a bunch of the baskets and cookies,” Simpson said. “We have maybe 40 (sundaes) left over, and we’re going to distribute those to the local nursing homes and maybe some to the hospitals.”

Simpson said the fund-raiser would not have been a success without the help of local businessman John Tisdale, who furnished the charity’s Valentine’s Day store on the courthouse square.

“We really appreciate his generosity, because without him we wouldn’t have a store,” she said. “We don’t have to pay anything — he just gives it to us, the rent, the gas, the lights, it’s all free of charge. It’s one of the best locations that we could possibly have. It’s just unbelievable the generosity he has shown us and we really do appreciate it.”

Simpson said work is already well under way for Meredith’s Miracles next fund-raiser, “Cookies with Characters,” which will be Saturday. She added that Meredith’s Miracles is thankful for all of the local support the charity receives.

“We are very blessed to be where we are, because people here are so giving,” Simpson said. “Thanks to their generosity, we were able Friday to write out checks to help three families who were in need. All the money from the Valentine’s Day sale and our other fund-raisers goes right to helping these families, and it’s all thanks to the support of people here in Andalusia and Covington County.”