E48: John Guastaferro on Hyundai Hope On Wheels and the Power of Purpose-Driven Philanthropy

John Guastaferro, executive director of Hyundai Hope On Wheels and the Genesis Inspiration Foundation, joins Timothy Chou to share how Hyundai’s dealer network helped build one of the nation’s leading funders of childhood cancer research. He discusses the foundation’s origin story, the impact of its handprint ceremonies, its growing focus on survivorship, and why advancing pediatric cancer care requires research funding, corporate commitment, advocacy, and hope.

This episode is brought to you by BevelCloud—powering distributed AI in healthcare and driving the Pediatric Moonshot forward. Learn more at BevelCloud.ai."

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening to another edition of the Pediatric Moonshot Podcast series. I'm really uh pleased today to have John Gustafero join us. Uh and you will hear he is executive director of both the Hyundai and Genesis Foundations. Uh let me give you a little bit of an introduction to John. Uh he's a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona. Uh he spent 18 years on the executive team of the Anaheim Family YMCA and as VP of Marketing and Development. In 2022, he became executive director at Hyundai Hope on Wheels as well as the Genesis Inspiration Foundation. Uh he is, you may not realize this, a world-renowned magician who regularly headlines at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Not only that, apparently he's an author of a book called The One Degree, translated both into French and Japanese. And I also understand John is a musician. So you you have plenty of things to keep in mind. Welcome, John.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Thank you, Timothy. I appreciate that. You did your research, by the way. I have these different intros, but it looks like you kind of didn't mean a deep dive into crafting that. So I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Yeah. So uh I'll just kick up. Well, first of all, you're a musician. Like, what do you play?

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Uh yeah, I play um primarily like Spanish flamenco guitar. So if anybody listening wants Googles my name, you'll find that I I have several original albums of music that I've composed on Spotify, Apple Music, and all the platforms, really. So yeah, it's a big passion of mine as is magic. I've been doing that since I was a kid. Um and uh and you might think that that's like, what do these have to do with this world of philanthropy that I lead currently with Hyundai and Genesis? Um, but to me, they're all united. Um I'll I'll just I'll just put the big umbrella statement at the beginning that my mission in life is to connect people to the extraordinary. And I get to do that by inspiring people through music, certainly bringing wonder through magic. But also, you know, when we're providing these life-saving grants um to kids, uh, I mean, that's the real magic right there. So they're all pretty united in my kind of approach to life.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

Wow. Well, when we post, uh, we'll definitely put a link over to your Spotify playlist, right? Oh, yeah, go for it. Yeah. Let's kick off with uh, because I think it's a pretty interesting story. What is the origin story of the Hyundai Hope on Wheels Foundation? Oh, sure.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

Yeah, yeah. As you mentioned, I came aboard in 2002. So I'm on my fourth year here leading both the nonprofit sides of Hyundai and Genesis. And just for context, on the Genesis side, that's the luxury brand of Hyundai. And that foundation um is focused on youth arts education, start 2018. Um so in many ways, it's a startup in many compared to Hyundai Hope Wheels, which has a 28-year legacy, but it's a dual role on any given day, helping helping kids a different way. So obviously, we're talking about Hyundai Hope on Wheels today. So um, yeah, we're founded in 1998, so in our 28th year of this work, um, a lot of people ask, well, how did Hyundai even choose pediatric cancer as your cause, right? And it just happened organically. Uh, a few of our Hyundai dealers in the New England area um knew someone at who was a patient at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and said, Hey, how can we help? And uh they raised some money. I think they had some fun with it, with a baseball game with a number of home runs or something, and they put their money together, made a donation. Um, next year, a couple more dealers got involved, and and then um, and you know, Kevin Riley, who who's on our board, he's a he's a prominent Hyundai dealer, vice chair of our board, but his dad was also in the mix that back then, who led the the National Dealer Council uh for Hyundai and said, look, this is great that it's happening here, but how do we get all of our dealers? So he helped mobilize it nationwide. And um, so fast forwarded today, there's over 850 Hyundai dealers, and they all support Hyundai Open Wheels Foundation. Um, as a corporate foundation, we're primarily funded by um just by Hyundai. Um so basically, every time a Hyundai vehicle is sold, a portion goes into the nonprofit foundation that I lead. Um and Hyundai Motor America also gives a partial match to that. So we we also get you know individual donations as well. So put all that together, creating this movement, um primarily investing in childhood cancer research. Um, you know, humble beginnings, but we've emerged as you know, one of the top funders of uh of childhood cancer research in the nation. And it's uh yeah, it's great to be leading that.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Yeah, it's yeah, it's amazing. I mean, talk a little bit about from the dealer perspective. Maybe you have a story of, I mean, beyond the origin story, like why why are the dealers supporting this?

SPEAKER_01 4:54

You know, every day we approach life we're just getting things done, right? But to know that you're doing getting things done and doing good in the world, it's a good feeling for anybody to do. And that's why volunteerism is so important. That's why you know seven out of ten households give in some way and donate. That's like giving USA statistics. And I think from a dealer perspective, they they're seeing firsthand the impact, right? And um, yeah, they're selling cars, but it's more than that. You know, it's it's because of their selling cars, they're able to make a difference where it's needed most. Um, and the way and beyond just a transaction of donating to the foundation, um, you know, they're involved in it. So on any given year, um, we'll travel the country in giving research grants to researchers, um, impact grants to hospitals, um, and a few other partnership grants along the way. So um, overall, there's about 175 medical institutions we've supported over the years. And this year we're on track to, you know, maybe do 65 to 70 stops around the nation giving these grants away in what we call our Hyundai hand print ceremonies. Um, and and with that, the dealers come. So all the local dealers in that region around that hospital come to the event. Um, you know, children in the hospital were visiting, you know, come down from the cancer wing. Um, and uh, you know, we present the check, we talk about the impact, the researcher talks about you know how this money will make a difference, and then we do our handprint ceremony because if you look at the honey hand uh hope on will's logo, it's it's a hand, and there's actually hidden shapes within the handprint. There's a heart, uh, a wing, and a leaf representing hope, love, and recovery. And um, and we, you know, the kids put their handprints on the white Honey vehicle, they put on the white lab coats of the doctor, but the dealers really take the lead in speaking and presenting, and then just kind of being part of that, even doing handprints themselves or painting the um hands of the kids who are participating. So it's just a way to you know symbolize that every hand print tells a story, um, regardless of where a child is, whether they're in treatment, um uh they're a survivor, maybe honoring those sadly who who who haven't made it. Um and that is the harsh reality, right? I mean, you know this as well. You know, the overall survival rate is about 85%. It's a big number, but it's not big enough. So that's why we keep doing this every day.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

Yeah. Yeah, amen. Uh talk a little bit about corporate. I mean, it's a car company. Like why is corporate? I mean, clearly you've gotten corporate support. Why?

SPEAKER_01 7:25

Yeah, you know, I I love this. I've been involved in the nonprofit sector for 20 plus years. Um, and it's great when you have a company that um certainly has a you know, they're selling either a service or a product, in this case cars, right? But they also have a give back mission. And at Hyundai, from a global perspective, they have this vision of progress for humanity. Um, and uh and they embrace that in so many ways, um through mobility and other initiatives, but also through the way they give back. And and it's not often you work for a company that has a robust nonprofit part, um, but also a corporate social responsibility, or what we call CSR. So I work alongside the CSR department every day, and there's other give back um opportunities that they're supporting from you know um sports and STEM on the Genesis side to you know uh to many other things on the Hyundai side, health and security, etc. Um, so yeah, from a corporate standpoint and CSR is like how does a corporation give back and um and and really elevate the brand at the same time, which is fine. That's that's what they should do. But but few go that extra step, but also having a separate nonprofit. So I'm on board kind of working alongside Hyundai. So it's not run by the corporation, it's running alongside, and that's the distinction's important because we have a board for a 501c3 foundation um between board governance, strategic planning, funding. So that's why we can say Hyundai donates to the foundation, not to themselves, right? Um, but yeah, we have this dealer, this dealer network involved in supporting it, and then and then Hyundai Motor America, like as I mentioned earlier, giving a partial match to that because they want to have skin in the game. Um, and I when I first started um in 20 uh 22, um the I think we were giving about 15 million dollars in grants that year. Um, but the the very next year was our 25th anniversary. So me and the board had this bold goal like, could we could we give 25 million in our 25th year? Like, what would it take to do that? And in that one year, all all the dealers said, Yeah, we'll we'll we'll gladly give more per car. Um and then I approached Hyundai and said, Hey, would you also agree to go up a bit? Which they did. They increased their amount um as well. So all that said and done, we made a quantum leap that year and gave 25 million in our 25th year and and had been kind of keeping that funding model going on. And and and we've also been getting more you know individual donations than ever before because you know, uh sadly, you know, it most people have been touched by cancer one way or another, either directly or their family or someone they know. And um, and there's many ways to support, you know, many organizations to support, but the more awareness gets out about Hyundai Up and Wheels is you know, among the top three funders of cancer research, um, they know that when they give to Hyundai Wheels, we're gonna make a difference with us with it and truly invest in research because this is not about masking symptoms, it's about it's about helping researchers find new discoveries, right? And uh, and and test out these ideas. And some of them take a long time, but if it leads to a life-saving cure, then it's all worth it.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

Yeah, yeah. I'm sure you you must have stories of the impact of these donations. Care to share one or two?

SPEAKER_01 10:39

Oh, yeah. I mean, this overall, I'm not a a doctor, but I but I hear the stories, right? You know, but yeah, but it just just I mean, just for the anybody listening, you know, the overall survival rate in the 70s was about 58%. It's risen to 85% overall, you know, and some and some have become highly curable, like leukemia, you know, like a high 90%, like it when it used to be a really detrimental um thing to hear uh years ago. Um, we're hearing you know doctors coming up with much less invasive treatments, you know, where a child had to be an inpatient for months and now they can be an outpatient going in every week um for for a for a treatment. Um so it's it's it's less invasive on their bodies, it's so important. Um right here at UCLA um hospital, you know, and there's an article that came out recently about you know having you know new cancer-fighting T cells to the help in getting the body to fight cancer directly. So um so many stories like that. But I to me, you know, the stories really come from hearing from the kids themselves. And um, and to help share those stories, every year we had two national youth ambassadors, and these are young, you know, 10 to 12-year-old kids who have gone through their battle of cancer, they've rung the bell of remission, still have you know challenges ahead, but they're at the you know they're cancer-free, they're sharing their stories of bravery and courage. And um I remember one of our uh ambassadors from a couple years ago, a Rainy Clark, Rainey, and she had the word rain in her names, and she had rainbows all over her room, and and we said, Oh, what's that, all that about? Yeah, she goes, 'People call me rainbow,' but it's also how I look at life, because I know that because when I was going through treatment and being stabbed and poked and everything, like I knew that it it took both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow. Like, oh man, I couldn't have said it better myself, right? So even and it's a lesson for all of us, because even in those dark days and even these stressful days, it just doesn't mean as much anymore, right? When you put in that perspective. But we know sometimes it takes the good and bad to accomplish this other thing, you know. Our our current youth ambassador, um, Isabella, she just joined and she loves a karate. I mean, she loves uh uh bluebell, I believe, and she's keep progressing on that, but she just wants to kick and kick cancer out for good, which I which I love. And and then Jackson Trent, our other ambassador, you know, he said the other day, um quick story, real quick. We were at here's where magic here's where magic and philanthropy converge in a in an uncommon way. We were in New York for the New York Auto Show. We're doing tons of media interviews talking about Honey Open Wheels achieving its over 300 million lifetime giving so far. Um so we did all beyond all the interviews, and um, we thought, well, let's treat the kids to something. So um, my friend, who's a magician on the side, is also the uh one of the conductors on Wicked on Broadway. So uh our youth ambassadors and their families and our team got to see Wicked, but he also got us backstage afterward. And um, if anybody's familiar with Wicked, and we they get to meet who plays Alphaba and Glinda on stage, but but the actress who plays Glinda and Emma Flynn uh said, like, how has this experience changed you for the better? And then Jackson, without missing a beat, said, You know, I I learned that it's not just about being fearless, it's about knowing that I can get even through the toughest challenges. And I thought, wow, that's man, duh. These kids teach us a lot. That's what it's really all about. He's 12 years old, Isabella's 10, and uh, you know, she just she's cute. She she she mentioned something that's kind of over the rainbow related, but she goes, I I I learned that there's there is a uh a pot at the end of the rainbow, and that pot is hope. And uh, and that's really what we're we're funding at Honey Hope on Wheels. So yeah, thanks for allowing me to share that because beyond all the medical advances are are having kids that have been through this and they're and they're and they're sharing stories of inspiration. And if those messages get to other kids who are currently in treatment, it gives them that extra bit of hope. That hope's there withstanding standing side by side with you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

Uh talk a little bit about, I mean, um, as you've pointed out, there have been a lot of advancements in cancer therapies, etc., but which has allowed kids to survive longer. But they're the survivorship thing is getting more complicated, isn't it, as we go forward. Can you talk a little about how you're thinking about survivorship?

SPEAKER_01 15:01

Yeah, yeah, thanks for asking. You know, when I first joined, survivorship wasn't even a term we used in um our our board. It was a new term to our board. Um, but I also work closely with our medical advisory committee. And this is a group of experienced doctors who who review our grants. Um, they know how to evaluate them based on you know the promising practices and what they're working on. But um, and they brought up this topic of survivorship because you know, the more we're investing in research, the more kids are surviving, which is a great thing. But that doesn't mean they're out in the clear. Um, it means that they just have another the next chapter. And that chapter could include lifelong side effects, um uh fertility issues, uh mental health issues, financial barriers, and and so on. So um what we did at Honeyabah is like let's learn more about that. So we convened a group of leaders from across the nation. Um, we did a three-day retreat just on survivorship. We had them inform us like what are the biggest issues among the survivorship umbrella, you know. And uh and then though whatever rose to the top, we said, okay, we're gonna we're let's focus on that. And we decided like, are we gonna do sprinkle money across the nation or are we gonna focus on maybe four or five really strong things here and give a significant amount? And that's what we chose to do. So a couple of years ago, we we launched a five million dollar survivorship initiative, um, funding some some some key practices um right down your alley. So, and I think you've talked to one of our partners, is like, how do you get you know more AI generated um um uh information that's in real time? So when a doctor is doing, say, a physical for a 20-year-old who had cancer 10 years ago, like what do they know about treating them now, right? So, so how do you get medical records to stay with kids along the way? How do you get real-time information to help find you know fuel their decisions? And that's one of the areas, and and you know, um and there's a few other areas in terms of survivorship too. Um, you know, there's there's there's these resources that people can have on their chick cancer survivors can have on their phones. And there's a great one out of Texas Children called Passport for Care, another one out of Children's Atlanta, um called Survivor Link. But like, well, why have two separate ones? How can we help put those together to make one powerhouse resource? And uh and there's so many other things. What there's also for like mental health support and and uh and virtual support and and so on. So so right now we're kind of seeing that through, having them report back to us like what progress are are you seeing? Um but but survivorship's important and also awareness of that is important because um we just did a like a field survey in in the nation about like, you know, have you heard of survivorship? And uh a lot of people have. Um, but but more than half of people think that um when it when a child rings the bell that they're done. I mean they're they're cancer free forever. Um so that means we have to educate that too, because yeah, you know, ringing the bell of remission uh is is one thing, but it could come back. Um our hope is that it doesn't. So we all um, but we also want to make sure these these families can also navigate those challenges um moving forward. So um anyway, that's why it's so important. We're we're and we're trying to lead the way. I I don't know if a lot of organizations are just leading the way on survivorship, but you know, with Honey Open Wheels with a 28-year legacy, and we're not stopping. So let's include survivorship under our belt. So now I'll close this with that. We I think we have a holistic view of hope at Honey Open Wheels from from research to treatment to now survivorship as well. So thanks for the question.

SPEAKER_00 18:37

You touched on a little bit. I mean, uh, you know, AI is in the water these days, you can't not talk about it. How how do you think about the impact of AI in the work you're doing um and in pediatric cancer in general?

SPEAKER_01 18:53

I'll be honest, it's kind of new to me. And I and I and I get like a lot of people might have a initial reaction, right? AI, you know, that fake stuff or this or that. And um just interesting, um, because AI in so many ways, a lot of people use AI every day, you know, help me refine this message or or whatever. And using AI as a tool, not as a replacement, not say, hey, will you come up with ideas for me? No, well, I have this, I'm crafting this. Um, how can you use A as a tool? It could be really powerful, right? And then it was, and again, we're being very objective at Hyundai Open Wheels with you know what projects are we going to fund? And um when and and we and collaboratively as well, like we we encourage groups to come together and collaborate. And when AI came up as an important um resource if used right, um, it has to be done just the right way. And and again, um you you could probably share more on this than I, you know, but you have to have the right information going in so that AI can can can capture all this in a way that would be you know almost impossible or it'd take far too long to to synthesize and have an output that's useful, right? So it's it it has to be the quality of the information has to be solid and it going in so it could be uh useful coming out. So uh but I think using AI as a tool in this regard or or in any capacity is actually a strong thing. We gotta be careful that it doesn't overtake things or or that it that it's reliable information, etc. But I'm glad that we're um we're embracing that as part of our initiative, and we look forward to kind of learning more along the way too.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

Um let me let me take you a little bit, zoom out a little bit. Uh, you know, uh adult oncology gets a lot of dollars, we know. Uh how do we change the dimensions of this in in pediatric cancer? I mean, obviously, what you guys are doing is a big step, but it's relatively speaking, there's a bigger problem out there than just what Hyundai can do. How do you think about that? True.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

Yeah, I I wish we could solve everything, can't we? I mean, I mean, I I think it's where advocacy and awareness come into play. Um I don't know the the the very latest stats, but for a while we were hearing that you know from the NIH on from the federal side um that out of all the funding that goes to cancer, only 4% of that was going to childhood cancer. I think it's even maybe a little less now. So that's the disparity you're talking about. I mean adult cancer is important as well. Our cause just happens to be childhood cancer. You know, no family or child should ever have to hear you of cancer. And and they're more resilient in many ways, too. If we can catch something early and and and and you know, but you know, it affects people of every age, but our focus on childhood cancer, and we wish there was more funding. Um, but I guess that's why it's more important, more important than ever. And you know, organizations like Hyundai Open Wheels uh with Hyundai Corporation are investing in this, but we can't do it alone as well. So um, our partners, of course, are the hospitals we fund, the researchers who have dedicated their lives who told us like if it wasn't for your funding, like I may I may get out of the field. So our research is doing more than just you know um helping to find new discoveries, it's helping keep you know researchers from the field. Um, you know, any supplementary dollars from other sectors, you know, from the public sector, federal, etc., um are helpful. But I don't think anyone is gonna solve the problem alone. You know, it's gonna take it's gonna take uh I I'll I'll borrow this from when I used to lead the health poll, um excuse me, health policy when I was at the YMC many years ago, and it was just how do you help kids become healthy? And uh and there was no silver bullet solution. And I think it it it said it'd take policy and environmental change paired with promotion and education. And I think that applies here as well. You know, we have some policy changes where there's a steady stream of funding coming from you know certain l certain resources on the public side, um, um uh environmental change changes you can see in here. You walk into a hospital, they have a cancer wing, right? You know, for kids. Um, and then also promotion and education, you know, how can you make a difference? Can you volunteer, donate, spread the word, you know, advocate, uh, you know, at a local level or even a congressional level. So um, but it's gonna take all of all of that. Um, we can't solve it alone, um, but I don't think anybody can. And I think you and I have been having some chats about the work you're doing, and we might collaborate on that as well. So um, but everybody might you might be saying, like, how can I play a role? You know, and you can reshare a post. You you can if you're if it's aligns with you, you can make us uh a donation. But you have yeah, organizations like us who are who are putting that money to good use. So hope that answers it.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

No, that's uh great. I mean, uh let's let's wrap it up. I'm gonna take you 10 years in the future. What what what would you say is going on now at at Hyundai? Uh what what's your aspiration? Maybe another way to talk about it? What's new 10 years from now?

SPEAKER_01 23:54

10 years from now. Um Hyundai Hope on Wheels um is a global movement um in every country where Hyundai operates. Um the survival rate in the US is close to 100%. Um, and it's it's making progress in other countries as well. Um, research has found new discoveries and new cures to cancers that were seemingly uh incurable um years ago. Um still more work to be done, but um but yeah, across the world we're making the difference.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

Hey John, thanks for taking time out of your day for this. Uh really a pleasure to have you here today. Ah, Timothy, thank you for championing this as well.