Friends of China Camp

Arlin Weinberger, a plain-speaking, down-to-earth philanthropist who contributes money and endless volunteer hours to China Camp, has just settled in for a cup of coffee at Andy’s Market, just outside the park. She’s come in after donating blood, something she does all the time. “If you’re able to help out, why not?” 

It is the creed of a woman who’s served on over a dozen boards in the past half century, including the position of chairman of the board of directors at China Camp from 2019 to 2021. 

“It started with my son’s preschool. I’m a board junkie,” she offers simply. 

Never one to stand on ceremony, Arlin also has a taste for hands-on work, from picking up trash at China Camp to stirring an enormous pot of split pea soup for another one of her causes, the Martin de Porres House of Hospitality in San Francisco. 

 “I’m a do-gooder,” she deadpans.  

As an extremely active senior, Arlin lives her life fully in every direction, answering hundreds of emails and calls for political campaigns, exploring remote parts of Zambia and Botswana, helping a nonprofit board develop a strategic plan, or navigating a trail with her local hiking group. 

A remarkable past leads to a lifetime of doing good

Over the years, Arlin has used her sharp skills as an organizer and her passion for the outdoors to contribute to various state parks and foundations. She has served in leadership positions for the Tamalpais Conservation Club, the California Alpine Club Foundation, Friends of Mt. Tam, and the Marin Conservation League (where she’s now a member of the league’s Parks and Open Space Committee). 

 Martin Lowenstein, executive director of Friends of China Camp, says Arlin serves as a vital bridge, connecting the many parks in the region to one another. He recalls when, in 2017, he sent out a request for help to buy a pickup truck for the park. At the time, he’d never met Arlin. But while he was on a trip, Martin got a message from her and called her back immediately. She was impressed by his quick response, and later bought the park a used red Toyota pickup. 

Arlin is the daughter of Caspar (“Cap”) Weinberger, a political giant during the Nixon and Reagan administrations. He was a three-term California State Assemblyman before leapfrogging to the White House, where he served at the cabinet level for three administrations. His titles included chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, director of the Office of Management and Budget, and U.S. Secretary of Defense.

Her dad, whom she describes as an old-school gentleman, “would have been absolutely appalled” by the ugly turn of politics in recent years. 

Arlin has never traded on her dad’s celebrity. She’s happy to share memories—like attending President Ronald Reagan’s inauguration—but has always had her own identity. During the Vietnam War, Arlin and her then husband were living in Chicago, but moved to Toronto so he could escape the draft. She lived in Canada for 13 years, writing “corporate crap” as she puts it. 

Arlin was very much a product of the social revolution of the late ’60s, questioning her parent’s politics and studying women’s liberation and civil rights. She’s extremely proud of her son, who works for a nonprofit, Best Buddies, that serves developmentally disabled people.

At China Camp, Arlin is known as an organized, diplomatic leader who says the park is well-run by exceptional staff members and volunteers. “When I leave China Camp, it’s like I’m leaving the functional and going to the dysfunctional,” she notes of the contrasts between Friends of China Camp and other similar nonprofits.

Looking back, Arlin credits her parents with taking her camping as a child for her love of the outdoors. And for all of her experience with different organizations, it is China Camp that has most captured her heart. “I love China Camp, and I’ve made wonderful friends here.”

—by Janet Wiscombe/FOCC volunteer