Hyundai Helps Kids Fight Cancer Through Hope on Wheels Campaign

Currently I sport my 2004 black Saturn Ion. I got my car in November 2008 and for the past two years it has gotten me safely to my destination. Even though I love my Saturn dearly, I began to miss my little silver 2003 Hyundai Elantra (even if I did have to share it with my younger brother) after I learned what Hyundai is doing to help kids fight cancer.

According to the Hope on Wheels website, what started in 1998 as an initiative by New England Hyundai dealers has now evolved into an independent nonprofit organization. Hope on Wheels is a national partnership between all of Hyundai’s more than 800 dealers and Hyundai Motor America. At the end of 2010, Hope on Wheels will have donated more than $23 million to children’s hospitals nationwide to help kids fight cancer.

Image Courtesy of Google Images

This September—Childhood Cancer Awareness Month—Hope on Wheels has expanded its commitment by creating the “Hyundai Gives Hope on Wheels” program. Through this program Hyundai dealers nationwide and Hyundai Motor America will donate $6.8 million dollars to children’s hospitals and other nonprofit organizations.

According to the Medical News, Hope on Wheels will visit about sixty organizations across the country to distribute Hyundai Hope Grants in the amount of $100,000. These funds will go towards research that will hopefully help cure the cancers that strike these children.

How has Hope on Wheels created success? I believe the way Hope on Wheels utilized the World Wide Web to create awareness for its campaign contributed to it being so successful. Its interactive website and its use of social media is a best practice for public relations professionals working in nonprofit public relations.

Interactive website

The Hope on Wheels website gives its audience many outlets to find out information and to become connected to the organization and its mission. The website has a strong strategic approach that goes beyond the basics.

• Meet the Kids. Visitors of the website are able to read stories on some of the kids that were helped through Hope on Wheels. By giving the visitors of the website a chance to connect with these kids, it allows for an emotional connection. If someone is emotionally connected, they are more likely to support your organization.

• Photo Gallery. The website also has a photo gallery with a variety of pictures that range from patients to hospital employees receiving the grants. Allowing your audience to see what the organization is doing through visuals also creates that intimate connection.

• Interactive Map. Hope on Wheels has created an interactive map that shows where the campaign has gone and is heading. From this map, visitors of the website can see if and when Hope on Wheels is coming to their area. By allowing your audience to see where you are going keeps them constantly updated and connected.

Social media

Hope on Wheels also has incorporated social media into its campaign. Utilizing social media in today’s society is a great way to reach a large audience in a quick amount of time. Social media also allows the organization to update its audiences on a 24/7 basis.

• Twitter. Hope on Wheels has its own Twitter account. According to this blog post, Twitter has become one of the fastest growing platforms for communicating, organizing and networking. By using a Twitter and creating valuable information, it keeps your audience coming back.

• Facebook. Hope on Wheels also utilizes a Facebook page. Through its Facebook, Hope on Wheels connects with its audience through pictures, videos and event listings. Facebook also allows visitors to comment and share their story with the Hope on Wheels Campaign.

By keeping your audience connected through your website and social media, you will continue to create a strong following for your organization. In todays society, a majority of people are using the Web. By knowing this, it gives nonprofits another outlet to reach its audience. Without support from your audience, a nonprofit organization has a hard time existing.

Let me know what you guys think of Hope on Wheels. What else do you think they are doing that makes the organization successful? Do you even find it to be successful? Leave your thoughts in the comments or feel free to message me on Twitter.

Oh– one more thing! Can I switch back to my Hyundai Elantra now? Pretty please.

Photo Courtesy of Google Images