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Hyundai "Hope on Wheels" Donates $35,000 to St. Joseph's Children's Hospital to Fight Childhood Cancer 06/25/2009 Hyundai Motor America and its dealers selected St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital to receive a donation of $35,000 from Hyundai Hope on Wheels™. The 2009 Hope on Wheels Tour is traveling nationwide to donate more than $1.3 million to childhood cancer research institutions and made a stop at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital June 17, 2009 at 10 a.m. to present the check during a ceremonial event. Tung Wynn M.D., pediatric oncologist at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, has been named a 2009 Hyundai Scholar, and will use the funds to support his research that promises to lay the groundwork for the development of a non-invasive and effective therapeutic protocol of medulloblastoma in children – the most common brain cancer. Dr. Wynn was recognized at the ceremony, and the hospital’s pediatric cancer patients took part in the Hope on Wheels Handprint Ceremony, where they dipped their hands in finger paint and apply their colorful handprints to a white Hyundai Santa Fe. The car, which is covered in children’s handprints from all over the country, is the symbol of Hyundai Hope on Wheels. “We are inspired every day by the brave children we meet at our Handprint Ceremonies,” said Scott Fink, President/CEO at Hyundai of New Port Richey. “When the kids place their handprints on the car, we are honoring their brave battles against cancer, commemorating their triumphs and sharing their hope for the future with other children and their families across the country.” “Hyundai and its dealers have been committed to supporting the children, families and doctors battling childhood cancer for more than 10 years,” said Oscar Leeser, President of the Hyundai National Hope on Wheels Dealer Board, and El Paso, TX Hyundai dealer. “Even in the face of tough economic times for our industry, we will not waver in our commitment to supporting the medical research and training that will produce better treatments, therapies, and one day, a cure.” St. Joseph's Children’s Hospital is the only community hospital in Florida, and one of a very few non-university hospitals in the United States, with a research laboratory dedicated exclusively to pediatric cancer research. “Since the 1950s, the childhood cancer survival rates have increased from less than 10 percent to more than 77 percent overall, and every advancement is a direct result of research,” said Dr. Wynn. “We appreciate the commitment that Hyundai and its dealers have shown to the medical professionals who do the vital research that propels us forward in the search for better treatments and ultimately a cure.” This year Hyundai Hope on Wheels marks 11 years of commitment to childhood cancer research efforts. Hyundai and its dealers have donated more than $12.4 million to children’s hospitals nationwide and collected hundreds of handprints from children fighting childhood cancer. More information and the complete list of 30 stops on the 2009 Hyundai Hope on Wheels Tour is available here.