Hyundai Canada’s commitment to raising funds for pediatric cancer treatment and research programs through the Hope on Wheels foundation has gained tremendous traction from its dealers — including one who has been personally and professionally impacted by children battling the disease.
Hope on Wheels began in 1998 when two Boston-area Hyundai dealers developed it regionally, before Hyundai Motor America broadened it to spread the program across the United States. A total of $25 million has been raised from a portion of each new car sale and through dealers’ fundraisers.
In 2024, Hyundai Motor Company President and Chairman José Muñoz asked the Canadian and Mexican divisions to join the U.S. in the program to expand it globally. Back in March, Hyundai Canada and its 226 dealers pledged $4 million to pediatric oncology centres this year. That included an inaugural donation of $2 million, with The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and CHU Sainte-Justine each receiving $1-million research grants.
Additionally, four pediatric oncology centres across Canada each received $100,000. As of early October, Hyundai Canada announced it had confirmed donations of almost $3.5 million.
“Seeing our employees and dealer representatives personally presenting $100,000 cheques to local children’s hospitals (in September) has been incredibly moving,” said Hyundai Canada President Steve Flamand in a LinkedIn post in early October. “This generosity is truly the spirit of the Hyundai brand.”
Rein Knol, Chairman of Hyundai Canada’s Hope on Wheels program, told Canadian auto dealer it is very rare to develop an idea to raise funds across the nation when dealers are all involved in their own individual charity initiatives. Knol, who is the Distributor Principal of Genesis Niagara, Dealer Principal of Performance Hyundai, and Chairman of Hyundai Canada Dealer Council, said Hope on Wheels has a synergy.
“Everyone is involved in it because pediatric cancer is such a touching subject,” said Knol. “It really hits home and just resonates with everyone. It just hits a nerve where somebody knows somebody (going through it) that they can just feel it. Besides every car we sell at every single store that contributes to the $4 million, everyone is doing something more on top of it with their customers. It’s special.”
Hass Hijazi and Jamal Hijazi
Hass Hijazi, Managing Partner of Finch Hyundai, Genesis London and Finch Nissan, is not surprised by the dealers’ collective support. “I think everybody has a bigger heart for kids,” said Hass. “Kids are innocent.”
He has a personal understanding of pediatric cancer through his 28-year-old son, Jamal, who works with him and whom he hopes will one day succeed him. Jamal was diagnosed with leukemia five years ago and underwent chemotherapy, sometimes in the same area as children. He is cancer free but maintains regular medication.
“He’s a survivor, and even though he’s an older person he’s not an old man,” said Hass. “He’s kind of a kid.”
Hass’s sister, Selma, lost a four-year battle with a more acute form of leukemia in 2009 at the age of 49. Only a few people from Hyundai Canada knew of Jamal’s story, but that changed last year.
Hyundai Canada Director of Marketing Christine Smith sent an email to Hass asking if he and Jamal would share their story in a video to help pitch the Hope on Wheels program at the Hyundai convention in Las Vegas in September. Hass and Jamal happily agreed to do the video, in part because Don Romano, who was President of Hyundai Canada at the time. Romano contacted Hass when he learned of Jamal’s diagnosis and drove from Toronto to offer support.
“Don is a big fan of Jamal, he always felt he would be a really good contributor to the dealer body,” said Hass. “As soon as (Christine) told me Hope on Wheels was about pediatric oncology research, I was all in. Jamal was an adult child and we’re a very close family, and that diagnosis was like a punch in the nose. It hit us hard.”
The video was played on three giant screens for the hundreds of attendees, none of whom were told beforehand what it was about or the plan for Hyundai Canada to start a Hope on Wheels non-profit. Hass and Jamal were asked to sit in the front row.
“I’ve never seen a room with that many people get so quiet when they played this video,” said Hass. “That’s why them not knowing was so impactful. When it was done, you could actually see people crying, actually whimpering. Tons of people came up to me and said, ‘Oh my God, what an incredible story, we had no idea this happened to you guys.’ People came up to Jamal and congratulated him on being a survivor. A ton of people came up to me and said they can’t wait to raise money.”
Knol described the video as “pretty emotional” and said it was sobering happening at a time when Hyundai was celebrating products and everyone was enjoying a good time.
“And then all of a sudden reality,” said Knol. “Everybody knows Hass and we know Jamal, too, that’s why it was so effective. Not a lot of people knew what they had gone through.”
Afterward, attendees were told to open sealed gift bags they had been given ahead of time. Inside were hockey jerseys with the number 24 and their names embroidered on the back. The jerseys also had the words “Hope on Wheels” on the front and designs of painted hands. When Hyundai Motor America began presenting Hope on Wheels cheques to hospitals, it started a ceremony in which children undergoing cancer treatment were encouraged to put their hands in paint and leave their imprints on a Hyundai car. They also wrote their own speeches.
Muñoz, who was in attendance for the video, joined all the Hyundai Canada attendees for a group photo that included a Santa Fe car with the words “Hope on Wheels” and images of children’s handprints.
As an aside, Hyundai Canada recently announced the Hyundai Hope on Wheels Greatest Save program, which will donate $10 to Hope on Wheels for every goalie save made during the 2025–26 National Hockey League season. It is expected to raise more than $700,000 based on last season’s save total. Hass and Jamal attended a Hope on Wheels donation ceremony in London in September in which $140,000 was presented to the local children’s hospital — $100,000 from Hyundai and $40,000 from the Finch Auto Group.
“It was pretty awesome, I got to speak at the event,” said Hass. “Just seeing the kids come out from the actual oncology wing, walking with these IV poles, and putting their handprints on the car — it was incredible. The smile on the kids’ faces was like they forgot they had cancer for a minute. It was almost like they were in a playground for a while. It was really, really cool.”
The Finch Auto Group — Ryan Finch is president of the company and Hijazi’s business partner — is a strong supporter of the local Ronald McDonald House, which provides lodging for out-of-town families with children battling various health issues, including cancer. Hass, Jamal and other Finch employees have volunteered there, cooking food and serving it to families.
“Going there, that breaks my heart, seeing how tired the parents are and how weary they look,” said Hass. “It exposed me to little kids that have cancer. It really made me want to help make a difference.”
Early in Jamal’s diagnosis and treatment, Hass told him there was a reason he developed cancer, though it might not be known right away. About 18 months later, Jamal started joining cancer forums and used his experiences to help parents better understand their children’s struggles with the side effects of the disease and treatments.
“I’m a big believer in finding a silver lining in anything,” said Jamal. He recalled a moment doing volunteer work at the Ronald McDonald House and seeing a young girl who had lost her hair because of chemo treatment. She was wearing a shirt with the logo of the Disney character Stitch, so Jamal snuck up behind her and did a Stitch impersonation. The young girl started laughing and then Jamal told her he went through cancer treatment and that she would do well with her positive attitude.
Jamal said children undergoing cancer treatment want to talk to him about how they are feeling, because he’s been through it and is a survivor.
“You see the hope in their eyes when they see someone’s okay that went through it,” said Jamal. “So it is a moving moment any time I can bring that little glimmer of hope to a little kid.”
Both Hass and Jamal emphasize donating money for cancer charities has made a difference. Hass’ sister was given less than a 50 per cent chance of survival when diagnosed. Now the survival rate for that cancer is 85 per cent. For Jamal, the survival rate for his type of cancer is about the same.
“This research helps,” said Hass. “When my sister passed, I was mad at the world, I was mad at God, and I was mad that cancer did this to us. In today’s world, we can make a robot build anything. Why does cancer still exist? I’m 59 and I would love to see a cure for some cancers before I leave this earth. That would be wonderful.”
Knol added that “everything we do (as dealers) goes to having one more breakthrough in research or one more survivor that is taken care of. That type of thing keeps driving the message home.”
There are Hope on Wheels cars in every Hyundai showroom with decals of handprints or actual handprints. “It’s an imagery,” said Knol. “You look at it and say, ‘those are kids’ hands that are being affected by this.’ It just brings the emotion and the reality to it.”
