Let’s just say that what was once a “blessing” turned into a “miracle,” when on Thursday, Second Blessings became Meredith’s Miracle’s Thrift Shop.

The store, which was run by St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, officially switched hands to become the latest in a long line of fundraising ventures for Meredith’s Miracles, the local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families who have to leave the area to receive sub-specialty health care for their children with non-medical related expenses.

Organizer June Simpson said that when the church offered the group the shop, she jumped on it.

“In the past, Second Blessings has given very generously to Meredith’s Miracles and even went so far as to offer us a space inside the store that we called the Meredith’s Miracle’s Boutique,” she said. “When the church approached us, I knew we could make a go of it to raise more money to help our children.”

Tony Douglas, the shop’s newly appointed manager, said shoppers can find a multitude of items from house wares to clothes.

“We even have evening gowns, men’s suits, children’s Sunday dresses – you name it,” Douglas said. “You just have to stop by and see it to believe what we have.”

Also inside is a book room outfitted with newly released best sellers and a wide array of paperbacks, where all of its profits are donated to the “Dolly Pardon Imagination Library,” another Meredith’s Miracles pet project that will provide one book a month to all babies born at Andalusia Regional Hospital beginning Jan. 1.

“The things that we are able to do with the money we raise is amazing,” Simpson said. “And everything we do is for the children who need it the most.”

Store hours are Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon.

Plans are to increase store hours to possibly one evening a week during the holiday season, Douglas said.