Thanks to an organization called CASA, hundreds of endangered foster children have a voice.

CASA, the acronym for Court Appointed Special Advocates, is a nonprofit that gives a voice to the 5,700 children in foster care in San Bernardino County — removed from their homes because they are in danger there.

CASA is comprised of trained volunteer advocates who provide stability and hope to abused and neglected youth by serving as their voices in court.

At any given time, CASA is serving 100 of these children, with another 260 on the waiting list, said Cesar Nevarrete, executive director of CASA of San Bernardino County.

“All foster children we represent were removed from their homes because they were in danger,” he said. “The numbers of foster children keep increasing and the No. 1 reason is drugs and neglect by the parents.”

The children need to be rescued because of neglect.

Of course, like all nonprofits, CASA needs help with funding to continue its important work, such as hiring more case managers and recruiting more volunteers to serve more youth.

Enter MOD Pizza, a new restaurant business in Rancho Cucamonga, which celebrated its grand opening on Friday. The super-fast, individual artisan-syle pizza restaurant donated all its opening-day sales to CASA, which they selected as their charity partner.

The MOD Pizza location at Haven Village in Rancho Cucamonga is the newest of the company’s sites throughout the country. For each one, the restaurant chose a charity partner.

Pretty cool.

On Sept. 27, CASA of San Bernardino County will host its 10th annual Munchin’ at the Mansion, at the Edwards Mansion, 2064 Orange Tree Lane. The celebration, which is the biggest fundraiser for CASA, will feature food and drinks from the Inland Empire’s finest dining and beverage providers.

In addition to yummy food and drinks, there will be raffles, live entertainment and a silent auction for prizes donated by local businesses and entertainment groups. This year’s event will have a Western theme and cowboy boots are welcome.

I’ve munched at the mansion before and it was a fun evening. The food and entertainment were great and the company was splendid — but we didn’t get to wear cowboy boots.

Be hungry when you go because the array of gourmet wine and beer, as well as food, includes Dream Dinners, Jersey Mikes, Hangar 24 Brewery, Renaissance Banquet Hall, Rok N Fondue, State Street Winery, Brew Rebellion, Wing Stop and Starbucks.

Proceeds from the event will support efforts for mentoring and advocating for foster children by CASA volunteers. This includes trained volunteers who are appointed by the courts to help young people with education and mental health issues.

“Our CASA volunteers help create stability,” Cesar said. “We ask for an 18-month commitment, with the volunteer spending 10-15 hours each month with the youth so they are not in fear of change. The process to be a volunteer is that you have to be 21, have a background check, go through training, have an interview and references — and then there are court hearings twice each year.”

Is it worth it? Advocates can save a life, change a life for the better.

After the youth start to bond with their advocates, they begin to understand there is someone in their corner — not paid to be there but someone who wants to be there.

IF YOU GO

What: 10th annual Munchin’ at the Mansion

When: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Sept. 27

Where: Edwards Mansion, 2064 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands

Tickets: $60 per individual; $100 per couple; $375 per table of eight

Information: For information on becoming a CASA or to purchase tickets, call 909-881-6760, or go to www.casaofsb.org.

Michel Nolan appears in The Sun on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at mnolan@scng.com.