Disaster Relief

The Hotes Foundation began with Richard Hotes and a group of employee volunteers following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. Amidst the rubble of the collapsed Twin Tower’s, Richard and team assisted the New York Fire Department by setting up donated command shelters. Prior to the New York 9/11 attacks, Richard had gained three-decades worth of experience going and personally hand delivering aid to the poorest of the poor – those in the greatest of need. The Ground Zero mission provided great insight to Richard. He realized more leadership and volunteers are needed on the ground.

Since 2001, the Hotes Foundation has performed over 80 missions, in 14 countries. Click a mission below to learn more.

  • HAITI – HURRICANE MATTHEW
    On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew made landfall over the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti as a category 4 hurricane, packing winds of 145 mph and dropping as much as 40 inches of rain in some areas. Every structure that was not made of concrete was leveled. Flash floods swept away…
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  • NEPAL – GURKHA EARTHQUAKE
    It was a Saturday afternoon when the first earthquake hit Nepal on April 25th, 2015. In the span of a few minutes, the culturally-rich, isolated Himalayan nation had its villages, towns and sacred temples reduced to rubble- leaving more than 8,500 dead, 22,000 injured, and half a million homeless. Two…
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  • WASHINGTON – OSO MUDSLIDE
    On March 24, 2014, rain fell on Oso, Washington, as Hotes Foundation volunteers arrived to provide disaster relief after the deadliest mudslide in United States history. Once a beautiful destination for fishermen and hikers, Oso was buried under 30 feet, and in places 70 feet, of mud and debris that…
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  • PHILIPPINES – TYPHOON HAIYAN
    The strongest tropical storm in recorded history smashed into the Philippines on November 8, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan took the lives of more than 6,300 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more. The storm also caused mudslides large enough to completely bury three-story buildings. To help those with the greatest need,…
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  • NEW YORK – HURRICANE SANDY
    The story of Superstorm Sandy disaster relief in New York exemplifies Hotes Foundation founder Richard Hotes’ belief that volunteering is the best way to make a positive change in the world. In 2010, the Hotes Foundation built 500 permanent homes in Fond Parisien, Haiti, for victims of a magnitude 7.0…
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  • KENYA / SOMALIA – REFUGEE CRISIS
    In September 2011, the Hotes Foundation responded to an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Africa by providing relief to Somali refugees in Dadaab, Kenya. Severe drought and civil unrest forced many Somalis to flee about 65 miles across their homeland’s border with Kenya and into the largest refugee camp in the…
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  • HAITI – LÉOGÂNE EARTHQUAKE
    Richard Hotes trains Hotes Foundation volunteers to respond quickly when natural disasters and other emergencies strike. This kind of urgent response allows the Hotes Foundation to reach people in the most need when it matters most. When a magnitude 7.0 earthquake rocked Haiti in January 2010, the Hotes Foundation was…
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  • APPALACHIA
    Hotes Foundation volunteers strive to make a positive difference in the lives of the poorest of the poor, no matter where they live. Sometimes those volunteers get to help people in need who are closer to home. One Hotes Foundation volunteer and his family decided that, for Christmas, they wanted…
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  • PHILIPPINES – TYPHOON KETSANA
    “Asia’s Week from Hell.” That’s what the world named the week of September 27 to October 3 in 2009. In the span of a couple days, 3 countries experienced devastating natural disasters. In Samoa, a magnitude 8.1 earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated a swath of Pacific Islands. In Sumatra, a…
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  • TAIWAN – TYPHOON MORAKOT
    Richard Hotes believes that going to where you’re needed — not simply giving money to worthy causes — is the best way to help the poorest of the world’s poor. His philosophy is borne from 30 years of mission experience across the globe. Richard was on the scene in 2009…
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  • ITALY – L’AQUILA EARTHQUAKE
    Hotes Foundation volunteers rushed to L’Aquila, Italy, in 2009 when more than 300 people were killed, 1,500 injured and 50,000 left homeless after a magnitude 6.3 earthquake. Volunteers knew a lack of food and water could result in thousands of otherwise preventable deaths. Their first mission to Italy helped supply…
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  • HAITI – TROPICAL STORM FAY AND HURRICANES HANNA, GUSTAV, AND IKE
    Between August 15 and September 7 of 2008, Haiti - the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, was barraged by four different storm systems. First, came Tropical Storm Fay, then Hurricanes Hanna and Gustav. Before Haiti had even a few days to recover, a category 4 hurricane, Ike, brought a…
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  • BANGLADESH – CYCLONE SIDR
    Cyclone Sidr tore through Southeast Bangladesh in November 2007, lashing affected areas with winds of up to 155 mph. More than 3,000 people were killed and 871 went missing. About 8.9 million people were affected by the Category 4 storm, Bangladesh’s second natural disaster in a year. Reports of the…
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  • MEXICO – HURRICANE DEAN
    Hurricane Dean smashed into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula in August 2007, pummeling the region with 165 mph winds and dumping torrential rain. The storm caused massive flooding, leaving 70 percent of the state of Tabasco under water. Richard Hotes and the Hotes Foundation immediately launched into action, assisting thousands of flood…
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  • PERU – PISCO EARTHQUAKE
    Hotes Foundation volunteers traveled to Peru in 2007 when a magnitude 8.0 earthquake killed more than 500 people, injured almost 1,100 and demolished about 35,000 homes. Thousands more were left homeless after fleeing their residences out of fear of deadly aftershocks. Richard Hotes and his team bridged the gap between…
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  • PAKISTAN – KASHMIR EARTHQUAKE
    Pakistanis living in the remote northern mountains of Kashmir were trapped without food, water, or shelter after a devastating 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck in October 2005. The quake killed more than 100,000 people, injured 138,000 and displaced 3.5 million people from their homes as a brutal winter loomed. Much of…
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  • MISSISSIPPI – HURRICANE KATRINA
    Hurricane Katrina rocked the Gulf Coast in 2005, becoming one of the five deadliest hurricanes ever to strike the United States. The powerful storm caused an estimated $108 billion in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Katrina cut a path of destruction from Florida to Texas.…
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  • NEW YORK – GROUND ZERO 9/11
    While much of the world watched in horror as terrorists attacked the United States of America on September 11, 2001, Richard Hotes and a group of his employees felt an overwhelming sense of duty. Moved by what they saw, and secure in the knowledge that they could make a difference,…
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