Hyundai Hope on Wheels has started its second year in Canada with $650,000 in donations to four children’s hospitals in Western Canada. The funding is part of more than $4.1 million the group plans to invest in childhood cancer research, care and family support programs this year.
The Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation and Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba each received $100,000.
The group has also partnered with the C17 Council, the national network for pediatric cancer programs. Through this partnership, Hyundai Hope on Wheels awarded a $250,000 research grant to Dr Jongbok Lee at the University of Calgary. His work focuses on immune cell therapies for children with acute myeloid leukemia.
“Our research aims to make life‑saving CAR‑T cell therapy more accessible and reduce wait times for children who need it most,” Dr Lee said.
Hyundai Hope on Wheels shared several patient stories from Western Canada. At Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation, Clarke spent more than three years in treatment for an aggressive leukemia.
She passed away last year. At a Handprint Ceremony on August 12, her mother, Cassandra Thiesen, said Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital was “our second home” and added, “Clarke would be so happy knowing Hope on Wheels is helping all the other kids who spend their days doing the hard things.”
A portion of every new Hyundai vehicle sale supports Hyundai Hope on Wheels. The program’s events include a Handprint Ceremony, where children place painted handprints on a vehicle as a symbol of their cancer journey.
