Remembering Arlie Smith
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Arlie Smith, who passed away last night after a heroic battle with cancer and multiple sclerosis. Arlie, a greeter at Danville Costco, was a dedicated friend of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland for over 24 years and tirelessly led many Costco fundraising campaigns for our hospital.
One of his most memorable acts of generosity was turning down a vacation given to him by Costco members in order to donate the money to help our kids. This act of generosity ultimately prompted Costco members to give him another vacation and galvanized the community to help him raise over $200,000 for the hospital.
In 2015, he was named Costco’s top fundraising associate in the nation during their Children’s Miracle Network campaign. We will forever remember Arlie’s courage, his selflessness, and unwavering commitment to our hospital and our patients and families. At the request of Arlie’s family, a donation page has been created in his honor to benefit the patients of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.