Recently Land Rover, in association with International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, decide to donate six Defender 110 station wagons for the aid of flood victims in Pakistan. The Land Rover cars would be used to distribute the basic necessities of life such as food, water, shelter and medical supplies to the thousands of people in the most remote and cut-off communities. Jaguar and Land Rover employees have even gone ahead to raise funds to support the relief operation through the British Red Cross.
And now, we have another car manufacturer coming to the rescue of some not so fortunate people through its charity operations. Hyundai Motor America has announced its plans to donate a whopping $6.8 million to 68 hospitals and non-profit organizations (that is $100,000 to each) during the course of the National Childhood Cancer Awareness month. A large chunk of the “Hope on Wheels” grants will come through Hyundai’s US sales network, which is as strong as 800 dealers. Each dealer would contribute $200 for every Hyundai sold during the month of September.
John Krafcik, President and CEO of Hyundai Motors America, said, “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 other childhood disease. This September, in support of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Hyundai will shine a nationwide spotlight on this cause and provide more than $6 million in grants for pediatric cancer research and support programs. 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.”
Hyundai has supported its “Hope on Wheels” program for the fight against childhood cancer the past twelve years now. And by the end of this year, the Korean car manufacturer would have awarded more than $23 million to hospitals and non-profit organizations across the USA.
Krafcik became deeply passionate about problem of children with cancer after his son had a condition that could have been cancer, but fortunately it did not turn out to be cancer. Research indicates that about 40 children are diagnosed with cancer daily. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death by disease of children aged 1 to 4.
