Hyundai Hope on Wheels awards $100,000 grant to Diamond Children’s

11/1/2024

Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded the Banner Health Foundation a $100,000 Imagine Grant to enhance the well-being of pediatric oncology patients and their families at Banner Children’s at Diamond Children’s Medical Center in Tucson. Funds will support a variety of initiatives designed to meet kids’ physical, psychological, and social needs, including hosting a survivorship event, purchasing video game consoles for patient rooms, and enhancing the décor of the children’s oncology unit.

During a special ceremony in September, Hyundai Hope On Wheels presented the $100,000 check. In keeping with tradition, children undergoing cancer treatment put their painted handprints on a new Hyundai vehicle as a way to commemorate each child’s personal story of hope. The Handprint Ceremony is the organization’s signature event during National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month each September, symbolizing the collective fight against pediatric cancer and hope for a cure. Tucson auto dealer Jim Click also joined the celebration and spoke about the importance of Diamond Children’s pediatric cancer programs and how they are guided by groundbreaking research.

“The needs of children, teenagers and young adults are different from the needs of adult cancer patients, and these funds will be used to enhance their well-being in the hospital and to provide additional support once they leave our care,” said Emmanuel Katsanis, MD, chief of Banner Children’s and University of Arizona’s statewide Pediatric Blood and Cancer Program. “We are grateful for the funding from Hyundai Hope On Wheels, which will critically improve the well-being of our young patients during these formative years.

Home to one of Arizona’s leading pediatric cancer programs, Diamond Children’s offers the latest technology to detect cancer, a range of treatment options, and supportive services for young patients with all types of cancer, including leukemia, brain tumors and lymphoma—the most common cancers affecting children. A member of the Children’s Oncology Group, Diamond Children’s is the only pediatric medical facility in Arizona that is connected to an academic research facility, the University of Arizona’s Steele Children’s Research Center.

Since 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has worked tirelessly to support families, researchers, doctors and children impacted by childhood cancer. Hyundai Motor America and its more than 830 dealers and customers support the cause with a donation from every new vehicle sold.