Hyundai Hope On Wheels Celebrates the Hyundai Cancer Institute at CHOC Children's With a Performance by the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra

COSTA MESA, Calif., April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor America and its nonprofit pediatric cancer organization, Hyundai Hope On Wheels®, will present CHOC Children's with the second installment of a $10 million gift committed in 2011. To commemorate this event for the Hyundai Cancer Institute at CHOC Children's, Hope On Wheels will host its signature Handprint Ceremony with Orange County-area children battling pediatric cancer. The ceremony will feature a special performance by the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, Calif. on Tuesday, April 17, led by world-renowned Maestro Myung-Whun Chung.

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Hope On Wheels' second installment of $2 million to CHOC Children's is part of a 5-year, $10 million grant donation – the largest corporate gift in CHOC Children's history.  Funds from Hope On Wheels are being used for groundbreaking pediatric cancer research at the Hyundai Cancer Institute at CHOC Children's, using the latest advances in genomic medicine to provide more effective, individualized treatment for children afflicted with this disease.

"As we continue to strengthen our longstanding relationship with CHOC Children's, one of the best children's hospitals in the nation, we look forward to seeing results in the coming years," said John Krafcik, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. "Funding innovative research programs that will have a real impact on fighting this deadly disease is our mission at Hyundai, and our partnership with CHOC Children's is critical in that goal."

"I am really excited to see what the data is going to reveal," said Dr. Sender, Director, Hyundai Cancer Institute at CHOC Children's. "We are now on our way to realizing the initial goal of the Hyundai Cancer Institute Genomic Research Program – providing pediatric oncologists with information that will allow them to make better decisions about targeted, precision therapy in patients with refractory or recurrent cancer." 

To celebrate the Hyundai Cancer Institute at CHOC Children's, Hope On Wheels will be joined by families, staff and doctors from the hospital, as well as community leaders and Hyundai executives at the Samueli Theater for a special performance by the Seoul Philharmonic, Korea's oldest and most prominent orchestra, and a signature Hope On Wheels Handprint Ceremony. This Handprint Ceremony will capture the colorful handprints of the brave children receiving pediatric cancer treatment at CHOC Children's as a symbol of hope for all the children battling this disease nationwide. Every Handprint Ceremony celebrates the courageous lives of the children faced with cancer and brings our community of supporters together.  

In 2012, Hope On Wheels will donate an additional $12 million to children's hospitals nationwide for pediatric cancer research through its signature Hyundai Scholar Grant and Hyundai Hope Grant awards.  

By the end of 2012, Hope On Wheels will surpass $57 million in total donations to childhood cancer research since the program began 14 years ago.  This level of funding places Hyundai among the leading funders of pediatric cancer research in the nation.

Additional activities for 2012 will include a national grant donation tour, nationwide fund-raising 5K race series, an online social media campaign and a partnership with the Childhood Cancer Congressional Caucus. For the third consecutive year, during National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September, Hope On Wheels will conduct a comprehensive campaign to raise greater awareness about pediatric cancer and the need to fund critical research to find a cure.

With every new vehicle sold in the U.S., Hyundai customers join Hyundai and its dealers in funding important life-saving research. For more information about the Hyundai Cancer Institute, or to learn more about Hyundai Hope On Wheels, 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.

ABOUT CHOC CHILDREN'S
Named one of the best children's hospitals by U.S. News & World Report (2011-2012) and a 2011 Leapfrog Top Hospital, CHOC Children's is exclusively committed to the health and well-being of children through clinical expertise, advocacy, outreach and research that brings advanced treatment to pediatric patients. Affiliated with the University of California, Irvine, CHOC's regional healthcare network includes two state-of-the-art hospitals in Orange and Mission Viejo, several primary and specialty care clinics, a pediatric residency program, and four centers of excellence - The CHOC Children's Heart, Neuroscience, Orthopaedic and Hyundai Cancer Institutes.

CHOC earned the Gold Level CAPE Award from the California Council of Excellence, the only children's hospital in California to ever earn this distinction, and was awarded Magnet designation, the highest honor bestowed to hospitals for nursing excellence.  Recognized for extraordinary commitment to high-quality critical care standards, CHOC's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is the first in the United States to earn the Pediatric Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence.

SOURCE Hyundai Motor America; Hyundai Hope on Wheels