Hyundai Hope On Wheels Presents Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center With $ 300,000 Hyundai Scholar Hope Grant

The Hyundai Hope On Wheels non-profit embarks on a nationwide tour this September during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month to award new grants for pediatric cancer, surpassing $160 million in lifetime funding for research.

Hyundai Hope On Wheels^® (HHOW), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supported by Hyundai and its U.S. dealers, announced $300,000 Hyundai Hope Scholar Grant to Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine to continue its long-standing fight against pediatric cancer.

HHOW has committed $13.2 million to support 52 new doctor-researchers in their research for better treatment options and to improve care for children diagnosed with pediatric cancer. The Hyundai Scholar Hope officially presented the grant to Dr. Warren Alperstein at Sylvester on Tuesday, September 10th, 2019.

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and HHOW has launched its campaign theme for 2019, “Every Handprint Tells A Story”.

Every 36 minutes a child is diagnosed with pediatric cancer impacting 15,000 new, young lives each year. Childhood cancer remains the leading disease-related cause of death among children. There are many handprints in the fight to find a cure.

HHOW remains one of the largest funders to support medical institutions and efforts to develop pediatric cancer research in the nation. This year will reach $160 million in total lifetime funding since 1998 towards finding a cure. With this latest grant, Sylvester has received $700,000 in total grants since 2010 from HHOW. 

“We are honored to be the recipient of the 2019 Hyundai Scholar Hope Grant which is funding the future of precision medicine in pediatric patients. Metastatic sarcoma can be a difficult disease to treat. The ability to match a patient’s specific tumor to the treatment option that demonstrates the greatest response in real-time has the potential to change his or her life,” explained Warren Alperstein, M.D., the principal investigator for the study at Sylvester.

“For 21 years, Hyundai and its dealers have partnered with medical doctor research teams from the top hospitals and institutions from around the country in a quest to finally beat this disease,” says Scott Fink, Board Chair and Hyundai dealer owner, Hyundai of New Port Richey.

“Hyundai’s contributions have helped to significantly improve childhood cancer cure rates to more than 80 percent. This is why every minute is precious and every second matters in the fight against pediatric cancer.”

During the event, young patients being treated at Alex’s Place, Sylvester’s pediatric outpatient facility for children with cancer and blood diseases,  dipped their hands in colorful paint and placed their handprints on a white 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe.

Their colorful handprints on the official Hope Vehicle represent their individual and collective journeys, hopes, and dreams.

For more information about Hyundai Hope On Wheels, please visit www.hyundaihopeonwheels.org/research.