Handprints for Hope

Hyundai Hope On Wheels backs lifesaving cancer research at CHKD

In September, during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, patients and families from CHKD’s pediatric cancer program gathered for the Hyundai Hope On Wheels handprint ceremony, held outside the main hospital in Norfolk. The children’s excitement was palpable as they painted their palms and pressed colorful handprints on a white Hyundai SUV, while their families and their care teams shared stories of hope.

“Handprints represent a unique way of demonstrating our support because each handprint is unique, and each handprint really does represent every child’s hope, their dreams, and their journey,” said Phan Tran, senior merchandising manager for the mid-Atlantic region at Hyundai Motor America, who spoke on behalf of Hyundai Hope On Wheels.

During this year’s handprint ceremony, Tran presented a $100,000 Hyundai Hope On Wheels Impact Award to Dr. Eric Lowe, a pediatric oncologist who also serves as CHKD’s chief clinical academic officer. Dr. Lowe proudly donned the Hyundai Hope on Wheels lab coat presented to him, which was quickly covered in little handprints of his patients.

CHKD’s cancer and blood disorders program follows as many as 500 children with cancer each year, providing the most up-to-date treatments available as part of Children’s Oncology Group, a global organization devoted exclusively to childhood and adolescent cancer research.

“Cancer doesn’t discriminate. It affects people of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life. It brings emotional, physical, life-threatening challenges,” said Dr. Lowe. “Chemotherapy, radiation, surgery – they all take a toll. They cause fatigue, they cause illness, they cause hospitalizations. They cause pain. They disrupt lives.

It’s a tough journey. It’s an extremely tough journey. But research, and the generous funding for that research, gives us hope.”

CHKD was one of 50 medical institutions to receive a 2024 Hyundai Impact Award for demonstrating exemplary work in the field of childhood cancer. Nationwide, more than 830 Hyundai dealers donate a portion of proceeds from every new vehicle sold, combined with support from Hyundai Motor America. In its 26th year, Hyundai Hope On Wheels will donate $26 million to pediatric cancer research, with $250 million given since 1998.

“Children light up this world and we hope that one day they will all have the opportunity to live healthy, cancer-free lives. There is nothing more important to us,” said Ryan Garner, general manager of Checkered Flag Hyundai in Virginia Beach. “Children represent our future, and we must protect them at all costs. We are proud to stand with Hyundai in the fight against pediatric cancer.”

“Hyundai Hope On Wheels is proud to partner with leading hospitals and institutions like CHKD to fund lifesaving research that improves treatment and outcomes for children fighting cancer,” said John Guastaferro, Hyundai Hope On Wheels executive director. “We are thankful for the ongoing commitment of our hospital and dealer partners around the country to bring hope and awareness to one day realize our vision of a world free of pediatric cancer.”

Providing the best care often requires resources beyond what medical insurance covers. Hyundai’s decades of generosity, totaling more than $900,000, has helped to fill that gap. The road to treating childhood cancer can be long and bumpy, but support from Hyundai Hope on Wheels makes that ride a bit smoother.