That’s why tomorrow night at the High Dive in Fremont, I’m hosting a benefit for CASA, AKA Court Appointed Special Advocates, a visionary organization devoted to helping abused and neglected children navigate the social service system. I first wrote about the group (which was founded in Seattle, and has since gone nationwide) in a Last Days item from 2004:

FRIDAY, APRIL 8: The week continues with a well-timed tip from Hot Tipper Lara: “If you are going to print all those horrible stories of abuse in Last Days, maybe just this once you should print something about people who do something about it.” Specifically, Lara suggested, the folks at Washington State CASA (that’s Court Appointed Special Advocates for children), where Hot Tipper Lara happens to work as promotion and publication coordinator. “April, after all, is National Child Abuse Prevention Month,” wrote Lara, but Last Days doesn’t need a federally appointed month to bestow praise upon motivated do-gooders, which the workers at CASA most definitely are. A quick tour of the group’s website (washingtonstatecasa.org) revealed enough instances of mundane work leading to miraculous results to earn Last Days’ admiration for keeps. From helping desperate individuals navigate the legal system to facilitating the most beneficial matches of available resources to victims’ needs, the volunteers at CASA are devoted to the notion that every kid deserves a home free of clobbering, neglect, and inappropriate groping, and are just the sort of pragmatic idealists the future depends on.

As for this week’s benefit, it’s to raise money for the national CASA’s Hurricane Relief Fund, which is helping local CASA programs serve abused and neglected children in areas clobbered by Hurricane Katrina. Among the night’s offerings are live performances by the Lawnmowers, the X-Ray Eyes, and Alicia Dara, along with various raffles and prizes and the low-impact hosting skills of yours truly.

It all goes down tomorrow night, October 19, at 8:30 pm at the High Dive, 513 N. 36th St. in Fremont. Hope to see you there.