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Volunteers held out buckets and collected donations from passing cars and curious pedestrians throughout the day Friday, all in hopes of raising money for the Humane Society of Freeborn County.

The shelter runs completely on fundraisers and donations.

“We’re doing our annual drive-in and donate, where we have volunteers on the corners of Broadway and Clark, and then we have volunteers in the north lot also, to collect donations to support the operations of the animals at the shelter,” said Robyn Joel, fundraising coordinator for the shelter, noting they received a lot of support from the city.

This was the first time they held their collections at the North Broadway parking lot. Prior to Friday, collections had been held on the corner of Broadway and Main Street, though the last one was in the parking lot of The Pet Authority.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s been really good up on the corners,” she said. “With the food trucks in the lot we’ve been really busy in the lot today, too.”

Joel said the goal for the 11-hour campaign was to raise $10,000. As of noon they had raised close to $4,000. All money raised will go towards their operating costs, including veterinary bills.

The Humane Society of Freeborn County has been holding these fundraisers for roughly a decade.

Vendors on hand included Carpenter Coffee Co., Nel’s Diner, Erin’s Street Bistro, Wildflour Confectionery, CrispBee Treats and B-Lo Zero Sno Cones.

Megan Yerhot, owner of Wildflour Confectionery, was in the parking lot at 11 a.m.

“The Humane Society is something that’s very important to me,” she said. “One of my cats is from the Humane Society, so it’s very important for me to give back.”

By 12:30 p.m., she had sold roughly half of what she brought.

Yerhot, who gave 10% of Friday’s sales to the organization, planned to stay until at least 2 p.m.

Jeff Strom, who has participated in collection events for six or seven years, was on the corner of Broadway and West Clark Street collecting money from 11 a.m. to noon.

“I try to help the organizations out that help me with my work,” he said.

Strom, who works for Albert Lea Police Department, said as an officer he saw a lot of neglected and loose animals.

Cecelia Krahn was collecting donations at the entrance to the municipal parking lot off North Washington Avenue from noon to 1 p.m. This was her first time collecting donations despite volunteering at the shelter for around a year.

“I feel like it’s the least I can do to give back to the animals,” she said.

She had collected around $100 by 12:37 p.m.

“I just feel grateful that I can be out here to give back to the animals, and help out Robyn and everybody at the shelter cause they work so hard at what they do,” she said. “They do a great job.”

April Elliott, who was in the parking lot getting food, planned to donate.

“The humane societies are always in need of help, and they’re always getting random animals dropped off,” she said. “It seems like a lot of places, especially with the cats, are always kind of overflowing. So I’m sure there’s always a need for supplies or food or whatever it might be.”

Like Elliott, Michael Juntunen planned to donate after grabbing some food.

Juntunen described himself as a dog-lover and appreciated everything the Humane Society of Freeborn County does.

Anyone interested in donating who couldn’t on Friday can visit their website www.freeborncountyhs.org. By Joel’s estimation, the shelter had over 90 cats and 15 dogs.