Ashley runs for “Redz”, her punk rock dad

In Ashley Anderson’s home, punk rock was the soundtrack of family life.

That was thanks to Ashley’s father, Brian “Redz” Anderson, a member of The Gears who were “one of the best late-70’s punk bands” to come out of southern California.

“His hair was red, that’s how he got his stage name Redz”, Ashley said.

Brian’s punk moniker inspired Ashley’s kidney cancer fundraiser “Run for Redz”. She’ll be running a half marathon to honor her father’s 4-year journey with stage IV kidney cancer. Ashley met her initial $10,000 fundraising goal in December 2021 – a massive goal that Ashley was happy her dad got to witness, as Brian passed away in January 2022 because of his diagnosis.

In the year before he passed, Brian’s treatment options began diminishing. He, Ashley, and the rest of the family had carefully researched kidney cancer and the types of treatments available. Brian had participated in a clinical trial, though he had to withdraw eventually. Immunotherapies are some of the most promising kidney cancer treatments in the past decade, however, Brian had rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition, which made immunotherapy a more difficult treatment option.

“He was actively involved in his treatment plan…but it’s been difficult to find other trials in our area,” Ashley said. “I started this fundraiser for my dad. Kidney cancer needs more funding for new treatments, treatments that cause fewer side effects, and more methods for early detection. I’ve witnessed it with my dad. I want better for kidney cancer patients.”

Since her father’s passing and because of how successfully she reached her initial fundraising goal, Ashley increased her goal to $15,000, for which she has pledged to run the Grateful Dad Half Marathon taking place in Portland, Oregon on June 18, 2022 – Father’s Day weekend.

“I want to go big,” she said. “I like the tie-in to Father’s Day. June is far away but I didn’t see a reason to delay raising funds. It’s still a drop in the bucket in terms of the amount needed for actionable change, but kidney cancer is not stopping.”

Ashley took some key steps that helped her meet her initial fundraising goal:

• Crafting a fundraiser using her personal story and family photos to clearly articulate her goal, what she planned to do, and who she was doing it for;
• Sharing her fundraiser widely on her social media channels and then reaching out directly to family and friends to both encourage donations and to share her post with others;
• Reaching out to special groups that mean a lot to her and her father, like other runners and her father’s music community.

Contextualizing how contributions help was also useful.

“What seems to stop some people from donating is thinking it needs to be something big. But it doesn’t need to be! For example, if someone wanted to pledge $1 per mile I’m running, that’s $13 and then they’re on that journey with me,” Ashley said.

“It’s so encouraging to see people get passionate about the fundraiser, especially if cancer touched their lives.”

The process of preparing for the half marathon has been both a welcome return to a sport Ashley was once extremely involved in and a parallel of the family’s cancer experience.

“Kidney cancer in general has been very unpredictable for us, so we focused on being in the moment,” she said. “I’m grateful that I can run because my dad wasn’t that mobile towards the end and remembering to be in the moment helped me enjoy all of the time I had with him. I run for my dad.”

The training has also become a family activity as Ashley’s brother, Jeffrey, and sister-in-law, Summer, joined her to run the half marathon. Together, they are celebrating their father.

“I would love to create a team and get more people to join under the Run for Redz umbrella with the KCA,” Ashley said. “This fundraiser, to me, feels like the first step.”

Not too long ago, Ashley stopped into a record store to browse the punk albums. There was a Gears record on the shelves and the shop owner knew the band.

“It’s really special to know that he’s out there in the world and that people know his music,” she said. “It’s the music in the background of my childhood and my life.”

Learn more about Ashley’s “Run for Redz” fundraiser.