‘Hyundai Hope on Wheels’ Event Includes Handprints, $100,000 Impact Grant for Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital
September 17, 2024 — Hyundai Hope On Wheels® and the South Florida Hyundai Dealers Association presented a $100,000 Hyundai Impact Award grant to Dr. Kerice Pinkney and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation at a recent event in Hollywood. The dollars are earmarked to underwrite cancer-related needs at the pediatric facility.
South Florida children battling the disease participated in the program’s signature handprint ceremony, where they dipped their hands in paint and added their prints to a white Hyundai SUV. Their colorful contribution to the Hope vehicle represents their cancer journeys, hopes, and dreams.
14-year-old Jaylin Pulido, a Pembroke Pines resident that survived Hodgkin’s lymphoma, spoke about the care she received at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, her love for the caregivers, and how important services supported by Hyundai are to kids and families going through treatment.
“This grant is supporting our navigation program, which means that every child diagnosed with cancer will have a nurse navigator to help them through their whole journey, which can be very long, difficult, and challenging for the whole family,” said Caitlin Stella, CEO of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. “It’s like having a partner through your treatment, and those services are only available with grant support.”
With the award, the hospital’s nonprofit foundation will have received more than $1.2 million in total lifetime funding from Hyundai’s Hope On Wheels campaign, which began nationally in 1998. The initiative is supported by Hyundai and its U.S. dealers, including those in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, to help kids fight cancer.
Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital is one of the nation’s leading pediatric hospitals, offering a comprehensive scope of healthcare services and programs in a caring, compassionate setting designed specifically for children. A level one trauma center that is part of the Hollywood-based Memorial Healthcare System, it combines advanced technology, the expertise of board-certified specialists, and a patient and family-centered approach to heal the body, mind, and spirit.
The hospital’s nonprofit foundation focuses on philanthropy to positively impact patients, families, and underwrite programs, facilities, and equipment that support the pediatric facility’s mission.
Connect online at jdch.com and @jdchospital on Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram.
Hyundai Hope on Wheels® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing critical research aimed at improving treatments and saving lives. Hyundai Hope On Wheels is one of the largest nonprofit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country. Primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 830 U.S. dealers. In 2024, Hyundai Hope On Wheels will surpass a lifetime total donation of $250 million in support of more than 1,300 childhood cancer research grants to over 175 hospitals and research institutions.
