MORGANTOWN – WVU Medicine Children’s and Hyundai Hope on Wheels celebrated the launch of a partnership Wednesday afternoon with a $100,000 donation from Hyundai to WVUMC’s Cancer Center.
After the brief speeches and check presentation, the ceremony culminated with some fun, as some current and former patients got to paint handprints on a white Hyundai Santa Fe decorated for the occasion.
Van Tran, Hyundai regional merchandising manager, said, “This is something that is near and dear to our hearts, our dealers’ hearts.”
Hope on Wheels began 26 years ago in New England and expanded across the nation, he said. Since then, they’ve donated $250 million and this year will be donating $26 million.
A portion of every sale goes to the program, he said, and Hyundai matches it. “We want to make sure that we are part of the community.”
He talked about the reasons why – paving the way for a cure for cancer. “It is incredibly inspiring to see the strength and resilience of the children and their families,” he said. “It’s really why we’re doing this.”
Michael Grace, president and CEO of WVU Hospitals, thanked Hyundai for the gift. “We are extremely grateful for that. … It helps us further our mission.”
He also praised the staff and honored the patients and their families. “They are passionate about helping children beat cancer,” he said of the WVUMC staff. “Our patients are so strong and resilient.”
Dr. Patrick Tomboc is division chief of pediatric hematology and oncology. “This money is just going to do an amazing thing for all our families,” he said.
“I love what I do,” he said. The job is all about people helping kids and their families get through the battle with cancer. “This is an amazing gift.”
Joshua and Kathryn Armstrong are parents of Laurel, a cancer survivor treated at WVUMC. They came to the ceremony with Laurel’s sister, Lillian (brother Joshua couldn’t attend).
Joshua said he was serving in the National Guard in the nation of Georgia when he got the word of Laurel’s diagnosis just over two years ago. The Guard arranged an emergency flight for him to return home that day.
“I didn’t know how tough that journey was going to be and how long it was going to last,” he said – not just of the flight but the whole experience.
He didn’t know they would be adopting an amazing new community – a place that feels like home with a caring staff, a place of professionalism and compassion, a place of comfort they look forward to coming back to. “When we’re not here for very long they miss their nurse friends,” he said of the children.
The kids who attended got to paint hand prints not only on the Santa Fe, but on Tomboc’s lab coat.
Tran explained why. “Each handprint is unique. Each handprint really does represent the journeys, the dreams, the hopes of each child.”
