Hyundai Hope on Wheels Awards Nemours 100,000 Grant to Produce Videos for Children With Cancer

Wilmington, DE – Last week, local Hyundai dealers and representatives of Hyundai Motor America presented a Hope Grant in the amount of $100,000 to Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children to support the production of three new videos for young children with cancer. They will be produced in conjunction with Nemours’ Center for Children’s Health Media and made available through the GetWell Network to hospitals across the country. While videos of this nature exist for older children, there are currently none geared to pre-school and early elementary age children with cancer.

 “Our hospital is very grateful to Hyundai for their generous support, and for funding this education program that will benefit young children with cancer and their families, “ said Christopher Frantz, MD, Hematology/Oncology Division Chief at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. “This award will help not only our patients but children throughout the U.S. who are dealing with cancer to better understand and feel more comfortable about what will happen while they are in the hospital.”

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Hyundai Motor America and its dealers joined the fight against childhood cancer in 1998 and created a program called Hyundai Hope on Wheels which, by the end of 2011, will have donated more than $7 million to children’s hospitals and pediatric health organizations across the country, including Nemours Children’s Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. In addition, Hyundai Hope on Wheels has contributed a total of $70,000 in Hyundai Scholar grants to Nemours in support of cancer research.

Although 85 percent of children with cancer now survive, childhood cancer remains the leading cause of disease-related death among U.S. children one to 14 years of age.  Every day approximately 40 children, the equivalent of a school classroom, are diagnosed with cancer — a total of nearly 15,000 each year.  

Peter DiPersia, General Manager, Eastern Region,  Hyundai Motor America, noted that “during the month of September, Hyundai has awarded 71 doctors and researchers with $100,000 Hope Grants — a total of $7.1 million — to support their programs” and presented Dr. Frantz with the $100,000 Hope Grant to help produce the educational videos.

Madeleine Boyer, Chief Marketing Officer for the Nemours Center for Children’s Health Media, thanked Hyundai: “These children need to learn the basics about their condition through accurate, kid-friendly content presented in an appealing way specifically designed for this age group. Thanks to Hyundai Hope on Wheels, we will be able to provide this very family-centered education to our youngest patients.”

Following the check presentation, young patients participated in a handprint on canvas project that will be displayed in the hospital’s Hematology/Oncology clinic.