Title:Driving research forward on rare pediatric cancers

Reilly chooses milk to make the traditional “Champagne or Milk Toast to Hope“ after the 2020 Hyundai Hope On Wheels contest.

As the owner and president of Alexandria (VA) Hyundai, he has long been active in Hyundai Hope On Wheels, a charity funded by Hyundai and its dealers that directs a portion of every sale to pediatric cancer research. To date, the program has given more than $172 million to pediatric cancer research and funded more than 800 research projects.

Newly appointed to the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Board of Visitors, Reilly was committed to growing Georgetown Lombardi’s reach and impact throughout the Washington area. As he gazed over at Healy, Reilly was on his way to a Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association (WANADA) Board of Directors meeting.  He currently serves as chair of WANADA, an organization that owns and produces the Washington Auto Show.  Reilly had also served as chair of the Washington Auto Show and was intimately familiar with its impact; the Washington Auto Show is the largest indoor public event in Washington, D.C., drawing hundreds of thousands of attendees each year.

With Healy now in the rear view mirror, Reilly asked himself how he could leverage the tremendous platform the show provides to accomplish two things: increase awareness of the lifesaving research being undertaken at Georgetown Lombardi, and raise much needed funds for pediatric cancer research.

He reflected on the extensive media coverage the longstanding “Hands On” contest at the auto show has received for decades.  Contestants attempt to stay connected to a vehicle for several days and nights at the show, with one intrepid contestant finally winning a brand new Hyundai. Reilly thought, “Why not make pediatric cancer research the beneficiary of the contest?”

Reilly with Hope On Wheels contestants

He convinced the Washington-area Hyundai dealers to change up the contest to feature Georgetown Lombardi and Children’s National staffers as the contestants, and make a substantial contribution to pediatric cancer research. He shortened the duration of the contest, now called “Hands on Hope” to a more moderate two days and, at the conclusion, the staffers who maintain contact with the car receive keys and the lucky staffer whose key starts the car wins it. The winner’s institution gets 60 percent of a $100,000 pot to fund its research, with the runner-up getting the rest.  Georgetown Lombardi has come in first for the last two years, though Reilly, while a loyal Hoya to the end, makes clear that he has no idea which key will start the car.

A passion for cura personalis

Reilly’s Hoya roots run deep. In addition to his own undergraduate degree from the McDonough School of Business, his father-in-law, Albert Moniz, M.D. (M’56), graduated from Georgetown School of Medicine and practiced in the area for 45 years before retiring. His mother-in-law, Sarah (Betsy) Reighter (NHS’56), graduated from the nursing school. They were married in Holy Trinity Catholic Church in 1957, where Reilly married their daughter Mary in 1999. His oldest daughter Karina (NHS’24) began her first year in 2020 and hopes to become a physician like her grandfather.

After Georgetown, Reilly earned a law degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Duke University. “Come March I have lots of basketball teams to root for,” he says laughing. “I have nothing but great things to say about UVA and Duke, but my Georgetown experience was unique on many levels, and my gratitude for that experience grows with every passing year,” he says. “‘Women and men for others’ is part of our DNA fabric and we are challenged to bring cura personalis to life every day. That Jesuit philosophy just stays with you and becomes a passion.”

Reilly assists young artist at “Hands On” event

Reilly’s passion for philanthropy also runs deep. His father was one of the co-founders of Hyundai Hope On Wheels when he was chair of the Hyundai National Dealer Council, as Reilly is today. He remembers fondly walking up the Hilltop with his father to participate in pediatric cancer grant check presentations at Georgetown Lombardi.

Reilly is excited to continue that tradition today through his work on the Board of Hyundai Hope On Wheels, and locally, through the Hands on Hope Contest and other endeavors, all to help researchers at Lombardi make critical progress in their research for cures for pediatric cancer. “Over 20 years, I’ve established close relationships with doctors, as well as families and children.  I have witnessed incredible stories of success, and stories that would break your heart,” Reilly says.

Giving attention to rare cancers

He is particularly focused on ensuring researchers working on less common pediatric cancers receive funding for their work. “The money we are able to give to someone like Dr. [Jeffrey] Toretsky allows him to take risks to investigate diseases like Ewing sarcoma, which affects about 200 children each year, or about one percent of all childhood cancers,” Reilly says. “Every day and every dollar gets doctors closer to developing a treatment, and maybe one day a cure. It’s exciting to be a part of that.”

The last Hands on Hope contest was held in January 2020 before going on hiatus due to the pandemic, but Reilly is optimistic that it will return in early 2022, when the auto show can be safely reconvened. In the meantime, and with the support of Hands on Hope, the work of pediatric cancer research at Georgetown Lombardi continues.

Reilly looks to integrate his support for Georgetown Lombardi and its work into all aspects of his professional life.  As president of the Washington Area Hyundai Dealer Ad Association, he worked with FOX5 and Hyundai’s ad agency to create a holiday program called “Stuff a Santa Fe” that provides toys to children undergoing pediatric cancer treatment at Georgetown Lombardi.  In the face of COVID-19, the holiday program pivoted to a virtual format.  Instead of toys, the Washington Area Hyundai Dealers matched contributions from FOX5 viewers, ultimately raising $20,000 for Georgetown Lombardi to provide for the needs of children and their families during the holidays. “Just another way that Kevin is constantly looking to help Georgetown Lombardi Pediatric Oncology,” said Kristin Augenblick, associate director of development at Lombardi.

Reilly, Lombardi’s Jeffrey Toretsky, M.D., and Mike Thomas of Fox 5 at deliver “Stuff a Sante Fe” holiday gifts to young patients.

When Reilly became chair of the Hyundai National Dealer Council this year, he ended his inaugural video to the dealers with a brief message about the Hope On Wheels program.  Displaying a stuffed Jack the Bulldog, he said “I keep the Georgetown mascot on my desk to remind me what the Jesuits taught me: that we are people in service to others.”

“The Reillys, starting with father Don and now the torch passed to son Kevin, have been supporters of pediatric oncology for over 20 years,” says Jeffrey Toretsky, M.D., Division Chief, Pediatric Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Hematology/Oncology. “Their work, through Hyundai Hope On Wheels and Hands on Hope, has allowed us to do critical, cutting-edge experiments to investigate new ways to treat sarcoma. The field of pediatric oncology has benefited greatly from their generous support.”

In recognition of Hyundai’s extraordinary generosity—more than $2.2 million to Georgetown Lombardi alone—the Hyundai Hope On Wheels program was inducted into Georgetown’s 1789 Society on April 7. After hearing of the work Hyundai Hope On Wheels does for pediatric cancer research during the virtual presentation, two other inductees—whose family members have personally experienced the hardships of dealing with pediatric cancer—expressed great appreciation for Hyundai and Reilly’s leadership. Reilly expressed his deep appreciation for this honor, “I am grateful to President DeGioia and his colleagues for this great honor,” says Reilly “but am most grateful for all that I received during my time at Georgetown University.  I look forward to many years ahead being in service to Georgetown and this very special community.”