holmestead
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We're building The Holmestead Hideaway on Bequia in St. Vincent and the Grenadines — a nonprofit bar and retreat where every stay, every gathering, and every drink flows back into the island community. Holmestead Angels is the nonprofit behind it all.
Right now, every tax-deductible dollar given here goes toward building this place and funding real work already underway — partnering with local Bequia nonprofits on early education and community development, and responding to disaster through Angel Boxes, recovery trips, and support for groups like World Central Kitchen and Operation Drop. Once the doors open, all net proceeds are split equally between community investment in Bequia and disaster relief wherever it strikes.
Where paradise
meets purpose.
our mission
Holmestead Angels turns hospitality into help. Through The Holmestead Hideaway — our bar and retreat on Bequia — every gathering, every stay, and every drink funds three things: education and community development in partnership with local Bequia nonprofits, direct disaster relief through Angel Boxes and recovery efforts, and lasting investment in the island we call home.
We believe a great experience should do more than feel good. It should leave something behind. That's the whole idea: a place where having a wonderful time and changing real lives are the same act.
and dream...
Live the dream, change the world.
community development
02
DISASTER RELIEF
01
Disaster Relief
We're built to show up when disaster strikes — providing essential funding that helps communities not just recover, but come back stronger than before. Hurricanes hit close to home for us, and the Caribbean and coastal communities we love are where our hearts are. We respond three ways: sending Angel Boxes of essentials and hope, organizing recovery and clean-up trips to help directly, and funding established responders like World Central Kitchen and Operation Drop who get help where it's needed fast.Our first hands-on program:
Holmestead Angel Boxes
When a storm hits, we send Angel Boxes — a ready-to-ship box of what a family needs in the worst week of their year. Not just supplies, but a handwritten note, a small stuffed animal for a child, coffee, and a reminder that someone, somewhere, packed this with them in mind. You can fund a box, sponsor a shipment, or gather your people and pack them with us. Every box carries the Angels' name to a doorstep that needs it. Fund an Angel Box →
Jobs & Training
03
We give directly to Bequia — funding early education, community enhancement, and development projects in partnership with local nonprofits already doing the work on the ground. We don't parachute in with our own programs; we invest in what's already trusted and working, creating lasting opportunity, not a one-time fix.
back
For creatives, brands, and artists seeking visuals with depth and atmosphere. These sessions blend refined styling with emotion-led storytelling—perfect for campaigns, lookbooks, or personal branding.
Starting at $950
Editorial
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back
An invitation to see place as story. These sessions document light, texture, and atmosphere—ideal for brands, artists, or collectors seeking a quiet, visual narrative of location and mood.
custom quote
travel
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Once The Holmestead opens, we'll hire locally and pay above local standards, running a working training center on-site. The world-class bartenders, chefs, and beverage professionals who rotate through won't just work a shift — they'll teach, turning craft into careers for the people of Bequia.
our focus
Our partners
The Grenadines Initiative has been serving children and families across Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for more than 50 years, supporting education, health, nutrition, and opportunities for young people to thrive.
For our first partnership with GI, Holmestead Angels is supporting the school meal program at Paget Farm Government School in Bequia. Just $7 provides one student with nutritious school lunches for an entire month.
We began our partnership by providing a month of school lunches for 24 students — and this is only the beginning.
As Holmestead grows, we hope to expand our support of GI through additional funding, guest-supported giving, fundraising events at the Hideaway, and hands-on projects that connect our community with meaningful work already happening on the island.
Because creating a beautiful place in Bequia should also mean investing in the people who call it home.
To learn more and support their efforts, visit their website.
about us
Holmestead Angels was founded by Angel and Brian Holmes with a simple conviction: that the best way to give is to build something that gives forever.
After decades in the food and beverage world — and one visit to a bar in New York where every dollar went to charity — the idea stopped being something Angel wanted to visit and became something she knew she was meant to build. The Holmestead Hideaway is the engine. Holmestead Angels is the mission it runs on.
But this isn't a two-person operation. Behind The Holmestead Hideaway is a team built for exactly this kind of undertaking: seasoned restaurateurs and bar owners, beverage makers and industry consultants, professional bartenders, an importer/exporter with direct experience on the island, marketing professionals, business owners, and a Bequia homeowner and philanthropist who knows the community firsthand. Angel brings 30-plus years founding and running nonprofits and hospitality brands; Brian brings 30 years as an engineer, building things that last.
Our approach is rooted in transparency, accountability, and direct community engagement. Because we operate the business that funds the giving, the connection between a guest's experience and a community's recovery is short, visible, and real. You'll know the people your dollars reach.
Brian and Angel Holmes
Founders
Holmestead Angels is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Gifts are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.
Board of Directors
Angele Passailaigue Holmes, President
Brian Holmes, Vice-President/Secretary
Bradford Bobbitt Jr, Treasurer
Jill Elaine Forbes
Shawn McCarthy
Here's the full Holmestead Hundred Founder's Guide — every way to become part of the story, in one place. Browse the founding levels, the leadership gifts, the naming opportunities, and the Friends of the Holmestead membership, with what each one includes. Download it, take your time, and reach out when you find the place that feels like yours.
Get your guide to giving
We promise to steward every dollar with integrity. We'll communicate openly, share regular progress, celebrate milestones together, and stay accountable to our mission — whether we're acquiring property, building, or serving communities. Every decision is guided by one question: does this bring us closer to a place where hospitality changes lives?