Hyundai Motor celebrates 25 years of 'Hope On Wheels'

Industry

Published: 22 Sep. 2023, 16:52

Hyundai Motor celebrates 25 years of 'Hope On Wheels'

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, right, speaks with Don Reilly, Hyundai Hope on Wheels co-founder, at Nationals Park baseball stadium in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

As Hyundai Motor’s charity program dedicated for childhood cancer patients marked its 25th anniversary this year, the carmaker celebrated its quarter-century milestone in Washington D.C. on Thursday.

Named “Hope On Wheels,” the nonprofit organization is one of the three largest funders for pediatric cancer research in the United States. Hyundai Motor donated $25 million for pediatric cancer research and treatment this year, which brings the carmaker’s contribution over the past quarter century to a total of $225 million.

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung speaks during a commemorative event marking the Hope on Wheels program’s 25th anniversary held on Thursday at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington D.C. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

“Beyond product and technologies, one of our most cherished initiatives is Hyundai Hope on Wheels,” said Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung in his remarks during the event held at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington D.C.

“We hope that one day, no parent will have to hear that their child has been diagnosed with cancer.”

Thursday’s event was attended by some 250 participants including Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Congressman Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.

On Wednesday, children who recovered from blood cancer threw ceremonial pitches at Nationals Park baseball stadium in Washington D.C.

From far left in the back row, John Guastaferro, executive director of Hyundai Hope on Wheels, Hyundai Motor CEO Chang Jae-hoon, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, Hyundai Hope on Wheels co-founder Don Reilly, Hyundai Hope on Wheels Vice Chairman Kevin Reilly, and Jose Munoz, chief operating officer of Hyundai Motor, pose for a photo during a ceremonial event where the program's National Youth Ambassadors Oliver Foster, left, and Raynie Clark, threw ceremonial pitches at Nationals Park baseball stadium in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Hyundai Motor holds a commemorative event in Washington every September, which is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, with members of the Congressional Pediatric Cancer Caucus, medical professionals and children who fought against cancer in attendance.

Hyundai Motor began the Hope on Wheels program in 1998.

Under the program, a dealer donates a set amount of money for the Hope On Wheels fund per every vehicle sold to a customer, to which Hyundai Motor donates additional money to operate the fund.

Roughly 830 dealers in the United States are participating in the program.

Over the past 25 years, 1,300 research projects at 175 U.S. hospitals and research institutes treating or researching childhood cancer have been supported by the fund, according to Hyundai Motor.

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, center, poses for a photo during a commemorative event celebrating the Hyundai Hope on Wheels program's 25th anniversary held on Thursday at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington D.C. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]