Hyundai Hope On Wheels Announces it will Surpass $130 Million to Pediatric Cancer Research in its 19th Year in the Fight to End Childhood Cancer
(PRWEB) April 12, 2017 -- Hyundai Hope On Wheels® (HHOW), a 501c3 nonprofit organization, announces plans to exceed $130 million in research for pediatric cancer research. Begun in 1998 by Hyundai and its U.S. dealers, the program is one of the longest continuously running CSR initiatives in the auto industry and is dedicated to fighting pediatric cancer. In 2017, sixty-eight (68) children’s hospitals will receive a combined $15 million in new pediatric cancer research grants. At the launch its event, doctors, child-cancer survivors, Hyundai executives, dealers and supporters will come together to mark the occasion. The event will be held on Thursday, April 13th at 6:30 PM at the Hyundai booth of the New York International Auto Show. Hosted by awarding winning journalist and multimedia personality Soledad O’Brien, and with a special performance by recording-artist Luke Wade, the event will serve as the national kick off for this year’s campaign.
“At Hyundai, our vision is to be a BETTER company. BETTER with our products and services, BETTER with our employees, BETTER for our customers, and BETTER in helping society,” says Jerry Flannery, President and CEO, Hyundai Motor America. “This act of BETTER includes helping children who are diagnosed with pediatric cancer. No child deserves to fight pediatric cancer alone. For nearly 20 years, Hyundai and its dealers have been a part of this fight to find a cure. This year we are proud to announce even more support for doctor-researchers, who we call Superheroes, to help win this fight. We want children, families, doctors, and the pediatric cancer community to know that Hyundai is on their side.”
HHOW offers pediatric cancer research grants for Children’s Oncology of America member institutions in the U.S. The grant winners are chosen by a peer-reviewed and competitive selection process. There are four HHOW grant categories: 1) Hyundai Impact Award ($50,000), Young Investigator Grant ($150,000), Hyundai Scholar Hope Grant ($250,000), and Hyundai Quantum Award ($1 million). Applications are graded by a panel of scientific reviewers, for their innovation and potential to increase discovery.
Celebrities Give A Hand to Hope
Each year, HHOW names one or more celebrities as an honorary Hope Hero for the New York launch event. The Hope Hero is someone who has demonstrated a commitment to children’s causes and a determination to making children’s lives better. We are proud to announce that renowned multimedia personality and award winning journalist Ms. Soledad O’Brien has been selected a 2017 Hope Hero. Additionally, recording-artist, singer-songwriter, and musician Luke Wade has been selected a 2017 Hope Hero. O’Brien will serve as the host of ceremonies for the launch event and Pope will entertain the audience with a special performance for local child-cancer survivors during the event.
Campaign Theme: “Superheroes Wear Lab Coats”
Pediatric oncology doctors and nurses are a group of dedicated, compassionate and resilient professionals, who often go unrecognized for the work that they do. The doctor-scientists often sit in windowless laboratories or spend hours looking through microscopes to understand pediatric cancer diseases better. They often ask for no more than a smile on a patient’s face and will accept the occasional hug from a grateful family. They are there at diagnosis, and they console during lost. They fight pediatric cancer with courage, knowledge and determination. They are Superheroes that don’t wear capes, but they do wear lab coats in the fight against pediatric cancer. This year, we showcase the work of many these researchers and bring attention to the incredible life-saving work they do on behalf of families. Watch our omnibus campaign video Superheroes wear lab coats to learn more.
Take the Hyundai Superhero Challenge of Hope
Every 36 minutes, a child is diagnosed with pediatric cancer in the U.S. That’s more than 44 children every day. Despite advances in research 1 in 5 kids won’t survive the disease, making it the leading disease related cause of dealer for U.S. children. To increase awareness about the cause, HHOW has created a unique social media challenge: The Hyundai Superhero Challenge of Hope. Doctors, nurses and caregivers at children’s hospital from across the nation have taken the challenge. Each will post a video up to 1-minute posing as their favorite superhero. These superheroes represent our collective effort to fight pediatric cancer. Superhero Challenge videos will be aired on HHOW social media channels beginning at 6:00 PM EST. This effort links children’s hospitals, child cancer survivors, and supporters from across the nation. The Challenge is a fun-filled way to bring awareness to the cause. No donation is required, and members of the public are invited to take the Superhero of Hope challenge and tag us @HyundaiHopeOnWheels.
To take the challenge and post your own video simply: 1) record a video up to 60 seconds posing as a superhero (props are encouraged); 2) announce you are taking the Superhero of Hope Challenge to fight pediatric cancer; 3) show your posse(s) or act out a skit; 4) conclude the video by announcing, “I/we fight to end childhood cancer; 5) post the video to Facebook and tag us @hyundaihopeonwheels. Join the fight and help us spread the word on our goal to end childhood cancer.
Communication Plan
HHOW will launch an engaging multimedia communications plan to increase awareness to the cause, includes:
A re-designed website, HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org, where visitors can view stories of child cancer-survivors, read about funded research, or post a message of hope for a family
The Hyundai billboard in New York Times Square (45th Street and 6th & 7th Ave) will air a special message on pediatric cancer for the month of April.
HHOW custom message on New York City taxi cabs TV.
Child cancer-survivor and grant winning institutions videos featured on website and YouTube.
Facebook Live
We are pleased to announce that the HHOW national launch event will be streamed to Facebook Live on Thursday, April 13th beginning at 6:30 PM EST. Viewers can join the event virtually and contribute to the conversation.
2017 Hope On Wheels Board Chairman
HHOW was born out the commitment of a group of Hyundai employees and New England-area Hyundai dealers to support the pediatric oncology program at Boston Children’s Dana Farber Cancer Center. This year, Scott Fink, dealer-owner of Hyundai dealerships in New Port Richey and Wesley Chapel FL, has been selected to serve as board chair.
“A key priority for Hyundai and its dealers is to give back to society and to make sure children have the best possible future for success. We believe that future should be in a world that is free from pediatric cancer,” says Scott Fink, HHOW Board Chair. “I am honored to have been selected the chairman for Hyundai Hope On Wheels. We know that progress has been made in finding cures for pediatric cancer. With over 780 research projects and over $130 million funded 1998, innovative therapies and new treatments have been developed, the Hyundai dealers of America are proud to join the company in such an important cause. But our work is not over, and you can count on the Hyundai dealers across the US to remain committed to this fight for as long as it takes.”
HHOW Grants Tour & Youth Ambassadors
The HHOW Grants Tour is a nationwide effort from April to October to travel the country presenting grant checks ranging from $50,000 to $1 million to selected children’s hospitals and institution. At each event, we conduct our signature handprint ceremony, at which kids get to put their hands in paint and place it on the HHOW hero vehicle, 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. These color handprints represent the dreams, journey and hopes of kids fighting cancer. They allow kids from across the nation to join hands in with a common purpose to fight this dreaded disease. Each doctor-grant recipient receives HHOW lab coat and is named a Hyundai Scholar. These groups of doctor researchers are Superheroes whose works are literally saving lives. The tour culminates with a Thought Leaders’ Summit in Washington, DC, bringing together, doctor-researchers, policy makers, elected officials and the advocacy community.
Also joining the tour are Hannah Adams and Ryan Darby, the 2016-2017 National Youth Ambassadors for HHOW. These amazing kids, both age-13, travel the U.S. visiting children’s hospitals spreading hope and encouragement to kids battling the disease. Each of their personal stories are also included online, as a part of the Hope On Wheels social media community, and printed collateral distributed at U.S. Hyundai dealerships, all of which are designed to increase awareness and invite others to join the fight.
Grant Winners
For 2017, HHOW announces sixty-eight (68) grants will be presented to pediatric cancer research recipients from across the nation. Click here to see a list of grant winners. Four (4) additional grant winners will be announced later this year to receive the Hyundai Quantum Award in the amount of $1 million each. HHOW grants are aimed at expanding the knowledge base of the disease and improving the standards of care.
“This is an incredibly promising time for pediatric cancer research, with so many things going on. New technologies, the ability to interpret data faster, and institutional collaboration are all coming together to address important questions about childhood cancer diagnosis and treatment,” says Dr. Dan Wechsler of Duke Children’s Hospital, and a founding member of the Hyundai Hope on Wheels Medical Advisory Board. “At the same time, the need for resources to support these efforts has never more critical. Hyundai Hope On Wheels is an amazing, visionary organization that serves as a important source of funding for physician-researchers. We applaud Hyundai and its dealers for being champions in the fight against childhood cancer.”
Our goal is to #Endchildhoodcancer
Approximately 15,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year in the U.S. This year HHOW travels the nation in a Hyundai Santa Fe SUV – the official hope vehicle, to the children’s hospital grant winners. The vehicle serves as a canvas for hope, covered with handprints collected from children across the country battling this disease. In September, National Pediatric Cancer Awareness month, HHOW will announce a series of events across the nation to bring greater awareness about the issue. Supporters and followers of HHOW are invited to post photos or messages on social media using hashtag #EndChildhoodCancer.
For more information about Hyundai Hope On Wheels and to view a list of our 2017 Hope On Wheels grant winners, please visit hyundaihopeonwheels.org/research . You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at facebook.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels , twitter.com/HopeOnWheels or Instagram.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels.
ABOUT HYUNDAI HOPE ON WHEELS
Hyundai Hope On Wheels® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing life-saving research and innovative treatments for the disease. HHOW is one of the largest non-profit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country, and primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 835 U.S. dealers. Since its inception, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded more than $130 million towards childhood cancer research in pursuit of a cure.
HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA
Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through 835 dealerships nationwide. All new Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Assurance program, which includes a 5-year/60,000-mile fully-transferable new vehicle limited warranty, Hyundai’s 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty and five years of complimentary Roadside Assistance.
For more details on Hyundai Assurance, please visit http://www.HyundaiAssurance.com
Please visit our media website at http://www.hyundainews.com
Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook
###
Media Contact:
Zafar Brooks
Hyundai Motor America
Cell: (714) 334-1766
[email protected]
Nicole Garner Scott
Grow Now
Cell: (770) 256-1800
[email protected]
Nicole Garner Scott, +1 404-422-2173, [email protected]
Share this article