This Tuesday, take the boss for lunch, schedule a midweek date or treat yourself to a night out as the United Way of Southern Kentucky invites local residents to &#8220Dine Around” at eight area restaurants.

Restaurants involved in the inaugural &#8220Dine Around” – which will hopefully become an annual event – agreed to donate 10 percent of their Tuesday lunch and dinner profits to the local United Way, said President Doug Eberhart. The nonprofit organization provides 40,000 services to people within the region by funding 43 programs, including help for the homeless, protection for battered and abused women and children, mentoring programs for youth and assistance for those with physical and developmental disabilities.

More than 10,000 individual donors and corporate sponsors contribute to the United Way of Southern Kentucky every year, bringing in more than $2 million in the last donor campaign, Eberhart said.

&#8220We take that money that is raised and we distribute it back out to the community,” he said.

The fundraiser was the brainchild of two United Way employees, who then presented their case to the southcentral chapter of the Kentucky Restaurant Association, said Tyler Bronger, past president of the association and manager of Tumbleweed Southwest Grill.

&#8220We thought it sounded like a great idea, and just decided that day to participate,” he said.

Helping charities is important to Tumbleweed, a restaurant that also assists with fundraisers for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society and the now-defunct Jingle Bell Run, Bronger said.

Eberhart thanked the eight participating restaurants for their generosity, and encouraged residents to look for &#8220Dine Around” banners when deciding where to have lunch and dinner Tuesday.

&#8220We hope this will be the first annual, and we will hope for it to grow each year to where it just provides an opportunity for people to learn a little bit more about the United Way and enjoy great meals and food at the same time,” he said.

Ready to dine?

The following restaurants are participating in Tuesday’s &#8220Dine Around” fundraiser:

€Cambridge Market

€Mariah’s

€O’Charley’s

€The Bistro

€The Brickyard

(Bowling Green and

Franklin locations)

€Toot’s

€Tumbleweed

Southwest Grill