Author | Angela Muniz
There’s no doubt that Joan Jett loves rock and roll – and it’s true for Bay Area newscaster Dan Ashley too. So it was fitting that the ’80s icon was the headline act for this year’s Rock the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) fundraiser in Walnut Creek -- the annual event’s first in-real-life
performance since the early days of lockdown.
Created and organized by Ashley, the event brings some of music’s top talent to an intimate stage each April to raise awareness and funds for California nonprofits dedicated to helping underserved youth. For Ashley,
Rock the CASA is a labor of love that started as a creative way to support
organizations close to his heart.
“One of the great privileges of my job is the chance to be involved in community,” he says. “…and one of the causes that’s always near to
me [are] organizations that help children have better lives and improve their
opportunities and their horizons.”
Two of those organizations are the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Friends of Camp Concord. As a board member with each for many years, Ashley wanted to do something beyond the traditional black-tie
fundraisers. His mind turned to his other passion: music.
Making a lasting difference
When Ashley isn’t on the news desk, he’s on the stage. As an
accomplished musician with his own Americana rock band, he performs around the Bay Area, like a recent gig at Outside Lands, a music
festival held at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
“So I thought, what if I can combine this interest in music
with a charitable evening?” he explains. “If I give people a chance to see some
terrific headliners in a very small environment…that would be a blast!”
Playing off the acronym for one of the organizations that
spurred the idea, Ashley formed Rock the CASA in 2015. The 501(c3) nonprofit
produces an annual fundraiser concert with proceeds going to four
children-focused organizations:
CASA volunteers are trained and dedicated to working for the best interests of abused, neglected and abandoned children in the foster care system. Ashley explains the advocates are adults who won’t let the kids down, helping them rebuild trust and often creating friendships that last for life.
Friends of Camp Concord is another original beneficiary, and one Ashley has worked with since the 1990s. Founded on a belief that every child should have a chance to go to summer camp, the group sends kids to Camp Concord in South Lake Tahoe, all expenses paid.
Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Boys & Girls Club round
out the benefiting organizations. Big Brothers Big Sisters pairs an adult known
as a “big” with a child for friendship, mentorship and activities. And the Boys
& Girls Club provide after-school programs for kids.
Gathering for a cause
With his eye on these causes, Ashley dedicates as much detail
to the show. He chose the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek
specifically for its size. The largest theater seats an intimate 785 guests and
has “just the right feel,” he says.
Calling on his friends in the music industry, Ashley secures acts
that quite literally rock the house. Eddie Money headlined the premiere event
in 2015 and acts like REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, Melissa Ethridge, and Patti
LaBelle came in the following years. Rick Springfield was the last in-person
performance in 2020, just days before pandemic closures.
During the pandemic years, Ashley kept the show going virtually with the help of musicians Chick Lovell of the Rolling Stones and Grammy-winning drummer Norman Michael Walden. Ashley says the virtual events were as unique and intimate as the in-person experience. In 2023, rock and roll returned to the house with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts taking the stage.
“The nice thing about this event is, you know, half the people
are there to support the charities, and the other half just bought a ticket to
see a rock show. So we can kind of widen the tent,” he explains.
It takes a village
Ashley says sponsorship from Bay Area business makes not only
the event possible, but also the chance to educate and raise awareness about
these causes.
“I’ve had just remarkable sponsors with me from the very beginning,” he said. “And I was so thrilled to have California Bank & Trust join this effort to help underserved kids in the Bay Area through Rock the CASA. Lila [Colridge, first vice president andsenior relationship manager] and her team were just so supportive, so enthusiastic and so very kind to become involved.”
Ashley is just as quick to turn the spotlight on a team of nearly 60 volunteers who contribute their time and skills to produce the event.
“There are a lot of moving parts to this,” he says. “After months and months of
work, and all the string of fundraising and coordinating…after all that, my
favorite moment is when the headliner (it was Joan Jett last time) hits the
first note. And it’s like, ‘We did it! We’ve got them on the stage!’ After
that, I don’t have a care in the world!”
But every time the curtain falls on a show, it’s not long before Ashley is planning the next one. Rock the CASA will return to the stage on April 27, 2024, with a still-to-be-named headliner.
This content was originally published in our award-winning magazine In Your Corner. See Issue 15 here: In Your Corner Magazine | Fall 2023