Melodies Center Receives $100,000 from Hyundai Hope on Wheels

The Melodies Center at the Bernard and Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center received a $100,000 grant from Hyundai Hope on Wheels. The grant benefits the Melodies Center’s Survivorship Program, which provides families of pediatric cancer patients with social and emotional support when their child finishes treatment.

Kate Halligan, MD, PhD, director of the Melodies Center, and Jessica Geaney, MD, who leads the Survivorship Program, accepted the grant and spoke about the impact this gift will have on their work.

“It’s our mission to offer high quality care close to home, and we are proud to be the only place in our community families turn when their child is facing cancer or blood disorders,” said Dr. Halligan. “This grant helps us to continue providing the best possible care for patients and families, and we are deeply grateful for Hyundai Hope on Wheels’ ongoing support.”

The Survivorship Program includes school support and re-entry guidance, emotional support for patients and families, guidance after a child finishes cancer treatment, research, and more.

Following the check presentation, Melodies Center patients painted their hands and pressed their handprints on a Hyundai vehicle to commemorate the event and their brave battles with cancer. The Melodies Center treats more than 1,500 children each year with cancer and blood disorders.

For 27 years, Hyundai Hope on Wheels has been on a quest to end childhood cancer and has become one of the nation’s leading funders of pediatric cancer research. Since 2009, the Melodies Center has received $850,000 from Hyundai Hope on Wheels.

"Hyundai Hope on Wheels is honored to support esteemed hospitals and institutions such as the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center to fund research that fosters innovation and medical advancements for pediatric cancer patients," states John Guastaferro, executive director, Hyundai Hope on Wheels. "We are grateful for the unwavering dedication and life-saving efforts that will bring us closer to a world without childhood cancer.”