Valdosta -The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office presented the Boys and Girls Club a check for $16,500 Tuesday afternoon.

This donation came directly from the Halloween carnival.

“We started the carnival back when people were putting poison and things in candy,” said Sheriff Ashley Paulk. “We thought it would be safer if law enforcement did an event. When I was campaigning again, it was a main thing that people would ask me about.”

This year’s carnival brought in an estimated 9,000 people and Paulk plans to make next year even bigger.

“It’s a great thing,” Paulk said.

The carnival is run by a committee within the Sheriff’s Department who decide where to donate the proceeds to each year.