How a Village Came Together to Grant Honour’s Wish

It takes a village to grant a wish — and for 10-year-old Honour, the village was just the beginning.

Honour lives with a severe nervous system disorder that affects nearly every part of his daily life. From managing six medications a day to navigating physical challenges, his routine is anything but easy. However, deciding on a wish was effortless. Honour loves trains and knew he wanted to wish for something that would bring him lasting joy: a custom model train set.

Honour and guests smiling in front of completed transet

"Honour is incredibly happy when he's with trains,” shared wish-granting volunteer Lou. That pure happiness became the heart of his wish — a train set and village designed just for him.

This wasn’t just any train set up; it was a complete transformation of his garage into a personal railway station, alive with the sights and sounds of his favorite locomotives. More than a hobby, it became a miniature world of pure imagination, complete with a tunnel carved through a towering rock mountain, vintage cars nestled along winding roads, tracks that twist through a bustling miniature town and even a charming train station where tiny passengers await their next adventure.

And the railway enchantment didn’t end at the tracks — it was etched into every detail by the incredible community that came together to bring Honour’s wish to life. Maybe that’s the most heart-warming part of his entire story.

“I feel like it’s not just having a toy, but also having people that you can be around that love trains as much as him is one of the most special wishes that he could have ever had."

Chelsea, Honour's mom

To make Honour’s wish come true, Lou sent a dispatch message to his community of train enthusiasts across Western Washington — from Kirkland to Tacoma. From custom-built structures to carefully laid tracks, these community volunteers spent hundreds of hours on every element. "It's so rewarding and so easy to do and the joy that you get helping someone else,” shared Dom McBride, from Venture Contracting, who built the custom platform the village rests upon. “The platform is a genius engineering feat that operates on a pulley system to optimize the space,” said Trina Cottingham, president and CEO and the staffer who managed Honour’s wish. “When it’s raised, a mattress appears underneath, and you can use that space as the bed. Then, when he’s ready to play with his trains again, he can lower the platform back down where it sits upon the bed.”

Honour’s wish wasn’t just granted — it was built by a community, fueled by love and destined to bring joy for years to come.

Special thanks to Venture Construction, Don McBride, Genentech, Jim Morgan, Chris Schneider, Vanessa Hartmann (Photographer) and Wish-Granting volunteers: Amanda Prather, Abby Sloan and Lou Cutler.