By Kari Lucin, staff writer

Albert Leans are encouraged to head to the Law Enforcement Center lawn Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to have a good time for a great cause at Lunch on the Lawn.

&8220;County employees will be cooking brats, hotdogs and hamburgers on the lawn. All the proceeds will go to United Way,&8221; said Freeborn County Administrator Ron Gabrielsen.

The original Lunch on the Lawn event a few months ago offered, along with lunch, the opportunity to chat with county employees about their departments and jobs.

A second, similar event sponsored by a group of ALPD members raised money for the Relay for Life and featured the Wall of Hope, a banner signed by those interested in keeping government funding for cancer research.

Both previous lunches went over well among people who attended.

This Lunch on the Lawn event will be the last of the summer months. Mrs. Gerry&8217;s and Diamond Jo&8217;s have donated some of the food for lunch. Guests will make a free-will donation, though the suggested donation is $3.

&8220;This is not an official meeting. They&8217;ll have tables set up, and it&8217;ll be a place for neighbors to come sit down and talk about the issues and all for a good cause, the United Way,&8221; Gabrielsen said.

The United Way donates money to 18 local health and human service agencies every year. This year&8217;s United Way need &8212; a term United Way uses instead of &8220;goal&8221; to indicate how much the community relies on it &8212; is $540,000, and the theme is &8220;Making a Difference.&8221;