Luther Hyundai Sponsors Hope On Wheels

Photo by Chris Phillips

On Wednesday, September 27th, employees, patients, and family members gathered at Children’s Minnesota to celebrate Hyundai’s Ho

pe on Wheels 25th anniversary. Hyundai’s Hope on Wheels is a non-profit organization that began in 1998 and is financed by Hyundai Motor America and its 830 U.S. dealers. For its 25th anniversary, Hyundai dealerships across the nation presented 88 Research and Programmatic Grants to fuel nearly 1,300 research studies at more than 175 medical institutions. 

This year, Children’s Minnesota received an Impact Grant presented from our Luther Hyundai dealerships at the Handprint Ceremony at Children’s Minnesota in Minneapolis. The grant recipient was Dr. Michael Richards, the lead investigator of Pediatric Oncology at the hospital.  The grant will support future research in the hospital’s Neuro-Oncology and Cancer Survivorship programs.

Following Dr. Richards’ speech, patients and their families, staff, grant sponsors, and attendees joined outside for the official handprint ceremony. Everyone was asked to dip their hands in paint and place them on a Hyundai vehicle. Many of the handprints on the vehicle represent kids who are currently battling cancer, those who have beaten cancer, and those whose memories live on.

One of the patients was two-year-old Avery, who is battling Leukemia. She is currently in one of Dr. Richard’s clinical trials. “The cancer and blood disorders program at Children’s Minnesota cares for 3,500 patients each year. We treat more than 55% of children diagnosed with cancer or a blood disorder in Minnesota,” said Nick Petersen, Sr. Public Relations Specialist at Children’s Minnesota. 

Although there is no known cure yet, we are hopeful that with extended research, clinical trials, and funding, doctors will be able to find cures for pediatric cancer in the near future.