Hyundai Hope on Wheels Donates $50,000 to Nationwide Childrens Hospital to Help Fight Childhood Cancer

Hyundai Motor America and its dealers announced today that Nationwide Childrens Hospital in Columbus, Ohio has been selected to receive a donation of $50,000 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 will be making a stop at Nationwide Childrens on Tuesday to present the check at a ceremonial event.

Kerry Powell, MD, pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant fellow at Nationwide Childrens Hospital, has been named a 2009 Hyundai Scholar, and will use the funds to support her research into rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children and adolescents, accounting for 5-8 percent of childhood cancers. Dr. Powell and Thomas Gross, MD, PhD, chief of Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant at Nationwide Childrens, also will be recognized. The hospitals childhood cancer patients will take part in the Hope on Wheels Handprint Ceremony, during which they dip their hands in finger paint and apply their colorful handprints to a white Hyundai Santa Fe. The car, which is covered in childrens 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 Keith Dennis, president of Dennis Hyundai of Dublin and Dennis Hyundai of Easton. 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.

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 childrens 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 at www.hyundaihopeonwheels.org.

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 nearly 800 dealerships nationwide.

HYUNDAI HOPE ON WHEELS
Hyundai Hope on Wheels is the united effort of the nearly 800 Hyundai dealers across the U.S. to raise awareness about childhood cancer and celebrate the lives of children battling the disease. Hyundai and its dealers have donated more than $12.4 million to pediatric cancer research and is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.