Swinerton Builders recently contributed $12,000 to Make-A-Wish Hawaii Wishes Forever endowment funds in honor of former wish kid Taiyo (last name not disclosed). At 19 years old, the Hawai‘i resident was closer to realizing his dream of becoming an entrepreneur than any of his peers. His wish was to launch a heavy equipment rental company.

Unfortunately, Taiyo, who battled skeletal muscle tissue cancer, did not get to see his business come alive — but he did get to enjoy a generous starter kit thanks to Make-A-Wish Hawaii and friends Glenn and Debbie Furuya of Leadership Works. The business starter kit included a new hydraulic dump trailer. It’s the kind of gift heavy-equipment enthusiasts can get excited about.

In the spirit of paying it forward, Taiyo’s family wanted to honor his legacy by selling the trailer and using the funds to establish the Wishes Forever endowment fund that will help generate money to grant other kids’ wishes in perpetuity.

Swinerton’s $12k contribution to Make-A-Wish Hawaii helps kickstart the growth of the Wishes Forever endowment fund to grant wishes for years to come.