KW Cares began as a grassroots effort. Our story began when a collection of Keller Williams agents, owners, and staff members came together with a mission to support fellow associates in need, in the spirit of “family helping family.”

Under the leadership of Mo Anderson, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for KWRI, this dream took flight when KW Cares was recognized as a non-profit organization in 2003.

Our organization grew tremendously in 2005 as a direct response to the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, as the KW community came together to take care of their own. Over 500 Keller Williams associates in the Gulf States Region were lifted up from one of the worst disasters our hemisphere has witnessed. This opportunity to help others so unselfishly solidified the non-profit, with donations jumping from the thousands to over $5,000,000 in the aftermath of Katrina.

The 2011 Joplin tornado that assailed the Missouri town of barely 50,000 people left devastation everywhere, but hit the KW Family particularly hard. Will Norton, the son of KW agent Mark Norton, was tragically killed when he and his dad were driving home from Will’s high school graduation ceremony. During Mega Camp that year, attendees at Party with a Purpose raised $150,000 to help two Joplin Rotary Clubs fund The Will Norton Miracle Ball Field, a specially adapted field for children with disabilities. 

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Hurricane Sandy, unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy, was the deadliest, the most destructive and the strongest hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. The devastation of the storm  brought out the KW culture of caring when individuals and Market Centers joined KW Cares efforts to provide food and shelter to those battered and displaced. The storm inflicted nearly $70 billion in damage and killed 233 people across eight countries from the Caribbean to Canada.

Hurricane Harvey, a devastating Category 4 hurricane, made landfall in Texas and Louisiana, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. In response, numerous KW Market Centers, supported by KW Cares, rallied to remediate damages suffered by their associates. During this hurricane season consisting of Maria, Irma and Harvey, volunteers assembled 5,000 relief kits to help muck out homes. Market centers and KW Cares sent 40 truckloads of supplies to the affected areas.

Running out of names from the English alphabet to name storms, the World Meteorological Organization resorted to names from the Greek alphabet. No fewer than four hurricanes tortured the Gulf Coast within eight weeks. The new Regional Director, Dawn Cazedessus, demonstrated her tireless leadership skills in each of these events. With the help of KW Cares, her market centers pulled together to collect and distribute food, generators, water and other disaster relief supplies.

In 2021, KW Cares responded to Hurricane Ida, one of the largest storms to affect our country. For the first time in our history, the Gulf States Regional Task Force set up three Command Centers because the demand for assistance was so great. The KW Cares Crisis Line rang every 2 minutes from 7:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. for weeks while staff and volunteers worked 12- to 14-hour days. KW Cares provided approximately $3 million in support through grants, natural disaster relief, and supplies.

When Hurricane Ian hit, 3 Command Centers were needed to respond to the impact. KW Cares awarded $3.6 million in grants and resources. In fact, 72% of our entire annual grants/assistance budget was distributed in response to Hurricane Ian. Following the storm, we set up a warehouse presence in south Florida to hold a reserve of resources (including 500 generators) to ensure faster responses in the future.

As we move forward, our goal is to continue to serve out our mission each and every day because at KW we are Family Helping Family.

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