Hyundai dealers presented a $100,000 donation Wednesday to Children’s Hospital for pediatric cancer research and treatment.
The contribution is part of Hyundai’s nationwide Hope on Wheels program that by the end of this year will have donated $23 million to children’s cancer initiatives over 12 years.
Grants will total $6.8 million this year to a series of children’s hospitals and research organizations.
“This grant will help us offer new and cutting-edge treatments available to the children with cancer who need it the most,” said Dr. Margaret Macy, an assistant professor at the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s.
The Hyundai donation will be used for an experimental therapeutics program.
Hospital officials said the funding will facilitate the transition of pre-clinical work into early-phase clinical trials for cancer patients with the poorest prognoses, focusing particularly on children with brain tumors.
“While we’ve made progress over the last few decades and now have an 85 percent cure rate, cancer still takes more lives than any childhood disease,” said John Krafcik, president and chief executive of Hyundai Motor America.
“We love taking on big challenges at Hyundai, and we can think of no more worthy challenge than finding a cure for all forms of pediatric cancer,” Krafcik said.
The donation was presented by David Zinsmeister, general manager of Arapahoe Hyundai.
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
