Hyundai Hope On Wheels™ donates $325,000 to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin to support childhood cancer research

On Tuesday, Sept. 25, a ceremony was held to honor the brave battles of local cancer patients.
Childhood cancer patients who have received treatment at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and their families joined Hyundai and its dealers to present Julie Talano, MD, a check for $250,000 and Samuel Milanovich, MD, a check for $75,000. Drs. Talano and Milanovich have been selected as 2012 Hyundai Hope on Wheels Scholars. The grants will support research into better ways to treat leukemia and make bone marrow transplants safer. Dr. Talano is a pediatric oncologist and physician scientist at Children’s Hospital and associate professor of Pediatrics Hematology/Oncology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Milanovich is a fellow in Pediatrics Hematology/Oncology at the Medical College of
Wisconsin.

After the check presentation, cancer patients from Children’s Hospital painted their colorful handprints on a canvas and the researchers' lab coats to represent their courageous battles and share their hope with other children and families across the country.

Hyundai Hope On Wheels™ is the united effort of more than 800 Hyundai dealers across the U.S. to raise awareness about childhood cancer and celebrate the lives of children battling the disease. By the end of 2012, Hyundai Hope On Wheels will have donated more than $57 million to childhood cancer research since 1998, when it began as a local initiative supported by New England-area Hyundai dealers. Every time a new Hyundai vehicle is sold in the U.S., Hyundai customers join Hyundai and its dealers in funding important life-saving research through the organization’s signature Hyundai Scholar Grant and Hyundai Hope Grant programs. Through these programs, those funds are distributed to children’s hospitals across the country during the Hope On Wheels Tour. This year’s tour will travel to 41 children’s hospitals and donate $12 million to support doctors engaged in childhood cancer research, making 2012 the largest single year of donations in the organization’s history.