MT. VERNON (WSIL) -- Dozens of leaders in the community will put on their chef hats for the 9th annual Men Cooking for CASA event.

The event acts as one of the main fundraisers for CASA of Jefferson County.

The goal is to raise at least $50,000 that's then used to train court appointed special advocates or CASA.

These volunteers are paired up with a foster child and accompany them to court hearings, school functions and just to fun community events.

They stay with the child until their case is closed, meaning they placed back with their family or adopted.

One of the chefs competing this year with his chicken and waffles is Sean Featherstun,who's the States Attorney for Jefferson County.

He see's the hard work that these CASA volunteers do with children on a daily basis and says the kids look up to their advocates.

"The world, it means the world to them," Featherstun explains. "They often refer to their CASA advocate as their friend, their very good friend or their best friend."

The event is taking place at the Double Tree by Hilton in Mt. Vernon on Saturday, January 25th.

A limited number of tickets are available and those can be purchased by calling (618) 204-5453.

The cost is $40.

A CASA of Marion county will also soon be opening and is need of volunteers.

A joint training session will be held with CASA of Jefferson County on February 25th in Dix, Illinois.

You can sign up apply here.