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Costco Wholesale Donates $10 Million Gift to Children's Hospital Los Angeles
[August 20, 2014]

Costco Wholesale Donates $10 Million Gift to Children's Hospital Los Angeles


LOS ANGELES --(Business Wire)--

In what is the largest single corporate gift in the history of Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), Costco Wholesale Corporation has made a $10 million philanthropic commitment to support the hospital's mission of delivering the very best patient care to children in Southern California. In honor of this gift, the second floor of the Marion and John E. Anderson Pavilion, opened in June 2011, will be named the Costco Wholesale Floor. Costco Wholesale, the hospital's most generous corporate donor, has supported CHLA for more than three decades.

Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Costco Wholesale executives celebrate Costco's $10 million gift ...

Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Costco Wholesale executives celebrate Costco's $10 million gift to CHLA. In the corporation's honor, CHLA named the second floor of its inpatient tower, which houses CHLA's prestigious Heart Institute, the Costco Wholesale Floor. L-R, Ted Samuels, co-chair, Board of Trustees, Children's Hospital Los Angeles; Katrina Wyhowanec, Costco regional marketing assistant; Helen Yniguez, Costco regional marketing manager; John Eagan, Costco vice president and senior general merchandise manager; Bruce Greenwood, Costco senior vice president and general manager; and DeAnn Marshall, MHA, CHLA's senior vice president, chief development and marketing officer. (Photo: Business Wire)

"Costco Wholesale has been a significant partner in our mission to create hope and build healthier futures for the children of Southern California," says Richard D. Cordova, FACHE, president and CEO of Children's Hospital Los Angeles. "Costco's generous gift will directly impact our ability to provide world-class pediatric care, conduct ground-breaking medical research and train the next generation of clinicians. It takes all of these things working together to provide the life-giving and life-saving programs that help the 104,000 children we treat annually at the hospital."

Since 1983, Costco Wholesale has donated more than $16 million to Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The company's generosity has been made possible by a strong partnership between its club members, employees, corporate business partners and shareholders, all of whom contribute toward the whole. Costco club members contribute at the registers each May as part of the corporation's in-warehouse, month-long fundraising campaign; Costco employees volunteer their time to lead such efforts and engage the members; Costco business partners fundraise for the hospital at various charity events; and the corporation matches all the gifts raised by each of these activities. Costco Wholesale's commitment of $10 million over the next five years will support CHLA's Children's Fund, which is dedicated to the hospital's research and clinical care programs.



"We at Costco Wholesale firmly believe in the importance of quality and access. We live by our principles, whether it's in providing our members with top-quality merchandise at the most affordable prices or in supporting one of the best pediatric healthcare providers in the nation-Children's Hospital Los Angeles-in its mission to create hope and build healthier futures for all kids," says Bruce Greenwood, Costco Wholesale's senior vice president, Los Angeles region. "This gift to CHLA reflects our philosophy of being a responsible corporate citizen by doing our part to improve the communities where Costco operates and where its employees live and work. Costco is proud to support Children's Hospital Los Angeles and we look forward to continue to provide meaningful ways for our members, staff and vendors alike to rally behind such a vital cause."

The second floor of the hospital's Marion and John E. Anderson Pavilion, which will bear the warehouse club's company name, is home to CHLA's prestigious Heart Institute, ranked among the best in the nation for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery by U.S. News & World Report. The Heart Institute provides care for children of all ages-from the unborn to young adults-with comprehensive state-of-the-art treatment in a single location.


While its renowned staff of physicians, nurses and technicians delivers the finest heart care to the children of Southern California, the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery is also recognized for its surgical innovations, some of which were pioneered at CHLA and are now used across the nation to improve the lives of children with heart defects. In addition, CHLA's esteemed cardiology subspecialists draw referrals for care throughout the western United States and Pacific Rim countries.

The CHLA Heart Institute holds special meaning for CHLA's honorary guest and longtime patient, Eileen Garrido, 15, an accomplished singer, CHLA Junior Ambassador and founder of Beating Hearts Foundation, which raises funds for hospitals that treat sick children, especially those with cardiac illnesses. "I want to make sure every child has a healthy beating heart," she says. A month after Eileen was born in March 1999, she underwent her first surgery at CHLA for Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart condition. Her second surgery took place in 2000. In June 2014, she underwent her third open heart surgery at CHLA to receive a new pulmonary valve and to repair a pulmonary artery. This surgery was performed by interventional cardiologist Frank Ing, MD, FAAP, FACC, FSCAI, chief of CHLA's Division of Cardiology, and CHLA cardiothoracic surgeon Winfield Wells, MD. The surgery was successful and Eileen is returning to school this fall and continuing to lead her foundation and raise money for CHLA. "I feel great and have more strength and energy than ever," she says.

About Costco Wholesale Corporation

Based in Issaquah, Washington, Costco Wholesale Corporation is a membership warehouse club dedicated to bringing their members the best possible prices on quality brand-name merchandise. With hundreds of locations worldwide, Costco provides a wide selection of merchandise, plus the convenience of specialty departments and exclusive member services, all designed to make the shopping experience a pleasurable one. Costco currently operates 649 warehouses, including 462 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 87 in Canada, 33 in Mexico, 25 in the United Kingdom, 18 in Japan, 10 in Taiwan, nine in Korea and five in Australia. The Company plans to open up to an additional fourteen new warehouses prior to the end of its fiscal year on August 31, 2014. Costco also operates electronic commerce websites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico. Their website is www.costco.com.

About Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Founded in 1901, Children's Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children's hospital on the West Coast and among the top five in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. Children's Hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. Children's Hospital is also one of America's premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation since 1932 with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

For more information, visit CHLA.org. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn, or visit our blog: WeTreatKidsBetter.org.


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