National Hyundai Hope On Wheels Tour Makes Baltimore Stop To Capture Handprints Of Local Children With Cancer

Baltimore Hyundai Dealers Present $40,000 Donation to Benefit Pediatric Oncology at Johns Hopkins

BALTIMORE, Md. – September 25, 2008 – Johns Hopkins is the next stop on the national Hope on Wheels tour, an initiative driven by Hyundai dealers across the country to raise awareness and contribute funds for pediatric cancer research. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Hyundai and it dealers’ commitment to supporting this cause.

The Hope On Wheels tour features a Hyundai Santa Fe SUV covered with the handprints of children battling — and beating — cancer.  Children from throughout the Baltimore area will be adding their handprints to the vehicle when Hope on Wheels rolls into town on Thursday, September 25, 2008.  The “handprint ceremony” will take place at 2:00 p.m. at Johns Hopkins in front of the historic Dome building.  Patients and their families will be joined at the event by Baltimore-area Hyundai dealers. 

“Watching children from our community share in the national Hope on Wheels program provides a very real sense of how this donation will touch so many young lives,” said Brian Kilby, General Manager at Jones Bel Air Hyundai.  “Hyundai dealers are very proud to have supported the fight against pediatric cancer for ten years, and we look forward to adding the handprints of our town’s brave young children to the Hope on Wheels Santa Fe.”

Hyundai Motor America and its dealers have selected Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins to receive a donation of $40,000 from the 2008 Hyundai Hope on Wheels™ Tour. 

“Hyundai and its dealers are proud to make this donation to a hospital and doctor that have shown such dedication to the fight against pediatric cancer,” said Oscar Leeser, President of the Hyundai National Hope on Wheels Dealer Board, and El Paso, TX Hyundai dealer.  “In its efforts to promote the training of the next generation of doctors, The Hope on Wheels Tour honors the brave children who have faced this disease and shares their hope and positive outlook with families across the country.”
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As part of the ceremony, local Baltimore Hyundai dealers will present the $40,000 award to support the work of Johns Hopkins pediatric oncology Dr. Christopher Gamper, who has been named a 2008 Hyundai Scholar.

“We’re most grateful to Hyundai and its dealers for the commitment they’ve shown to helping to speed up our drive to win the race against childhood cancer,” said Donald Small, M.D., Ph.D., acting director of Pediatric Oncology at Johns Hopkins.  “Every day, we work to make things better for children with cancer and their families. These funds allow us to go farther faster. It is only through research that we will one day defeat this dreaded set of diseases we call cancer.”

The 2008 Hope on Wheels Tour will visit 32 children’s hospitals, donating a total of more than $1.6 million.  Hope on Wheels will also conduct Handprint Ceremonies at 30 Light The Night Walks across the country as part of its 2008 partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, bringing the total number of cities on the Hope on Wheels Tour to 62. 

The Hope on Wheels Tour has donated more than $10 million to children’s hospitals nationwide and collected hundreds of handprints from children fighting pediatric cancer.  The complete list of 2008 Hope on Wheels Tour stops, including benefiting hospitals, is available at www.hopeonwheels.com.

THE SIDNEY KIMMEL COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER AT JOHNS HOPKINS
The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Maryland. Johns Hopkins pediatric oncologists are nationally known for their research in leukemia and brain tumors as well as innovative treatments and bone marrow transplantation.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA
Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, 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 780 dealerships nationwide.

HOPE ON WHEELS

Hope on Wheels™ is the united effort of nearly 780 Hyundai dealers across the U.S. to raise awareness about pediatric cancer and celebrate the lives of children battling the disease.  Hope on Wheels is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.