Hyundai‘s nonprofit to surpass $57 million in total donations to support childhood cancer research by year-end 2012; Levine Children’s Hospital has received $275,000 from Hope On Wheels since 2005

Charlotte, NC – August 9, 2012 – Hyundai Hope On Wheels® and Charlotte-area Hyundai dealers will today award Levine Children’s Hospital of Charlotte, NC with a $75,000 Hyundai Scholar Grant to Dr. Javier Oesterheld for his developmental therapeutics program. Levine Children’s Hospital is one of 42 recipients of Hope On Wheels’ 2012 Hyundai Scholar Grant, which supports principal investigators, known as Hyundai Scholars, who are pursuing research to improve the lives of children battling pediatric cancer.

Over the course of 2012, Hope On Wheels will donate $12 million to children’s hospitals nationwide for pediatric cancer research through its Hyundai Scholar Grant and Hyundai Hope Grant programs. By year-end 2012, Hope On Wheels plans to surpass $57 million in total donations to pediatric cancer research since its inception in 1998.

“I am honored to be the recipient of the Hyundai Hope on Wheels Scholar Grant,” said Dr. Oesterheld, the 2012 Hyundai Scholar Grant winner. “The advances we are making in developmental therapeutics, and all of pediatric cancer research and treatment at Levine Children’s Hospital, can be directly attributed to the generous support from friends like Hyundai.   On behalf of the patients I am privileged to serve, thank you for your loyal support of Levine Children’s Hospital.”

The $75,000 Hyundai Scholar Grant to Dr. Oesterheld will be officially presented during a Hope On Wheels handprint ceremony at Levine Children’s Hospital on Thursday, August 9 at 11:00 a.m., where Charlotte-area children battling cancer will place their handprints in colorful paint on a new Hyundai Tucson, the official vehicle of the program, to commemorate their battles with cancer.  Every handprint ceremony celebrates the courageous lives of the children faced with cancer and brings Hope On Wheels’ community of supporters together.  

Hope On Wheels primarily provides funds to nonprofit children’s hospitals across the U.S. for pediatric cancer research, and strives to build public awareness about the importance of this cause. The program is funded by Hyundai and its U.S. dealers. With every new vehicle sold in the U.S., Hyundai customers join Hyundai and its dealers in funding important life-saving research.

During National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September, Hope On Wheels will launch its third annual campaign to raise awareness about pediatric cancer and the need to fund critical research to find a cure. As part of its Hyundai Hope Grant program, Hope On Wheels will award 36 grants of $250,000 each to children’s hospitals across the country. Recipients of these grants will be announced in September.

"We see Hope On Wheels as a critical part of our mission at Hyundai,” said John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. "Pediatric cancer takes far too many young lives and impacts far too many families. We are proud to work with our Hyundai dealers to fund research to end this disease.  We congratulate each doctor and institution receiving our grants, and commend them for the important work they are doing.”

For more information about Hyundai Hope On Wheels, please visit www.HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org.  

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA
Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 800 dealerships nationwide.

HYUNDAI HOPE ON WHEELS
Hyundai Hope On Wheels® is the united effort of Hyundai Motor America and its more than 800 dealers across the U.S. to raise awareness about childhood cancer and to celebrate the lives of children battling the disease. For 2012, Hyundai Hope On Wheels plans to surpass $57 million in total donations to childhood cancer research since the program began in 1998. Hyundai Hope On Wheels is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

LEVINE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
Carolinas HealthCare System’s Levine Children’s Hospital is a 234-bed hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, located on the main campus of Carolinas Medical Center.  It is the most comprehensive facility of its type between Atlanta, Georgia and Washington D.C.  Levine Children’s Hospital is also home to the Ricky Hendrick Centers for Intensive Care, which support pediatric intensive and cardiovascular surgery patients.  Just five years after opening, the hospital has grown to include more than 30 pediatric specialties and has received national recognition from U.S. News & World Report as one of “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals” in six different categories.