Get Involved
Donate
Financial contributions of any size greatly support our mission to bring effective, research-validated programs and materials to teachers, students, parents, and community organizations in order to improve student learning from birth through adulthood. And these resources are needed now more than ever.
Your tax-deductible donation will allow us to:
- provide our evidence-based programs and services for free to learners of all ages.
- offer our evidence-based programs in ways that will not only reduce the learning loss that students have otherwise experienced as a result of COVID-19, but also improve these students’ skills in ways that will enhance their long-term academic and career opportunities.
- donate free materials to schools and families; offer professional development to educators locally, nationally, and internationally; and continue to develop new educational programs resources.
Helps Education Fund is an incorporated 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and all contributions are tax-deductible. Our Tax ID is 45-2046989.
Even modest, one-time donations help us to fulfill our mission.
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Thank you for your support!
The impacts of COVID-19 require even stronger efforts to support children’s foundational literacy. Here’s why:
- Recent estimates suggest that the average student will begin school with significantly lower levels of literacy compared to a typical school year. This will be due to a combination of summer learning loss as well as the learning loss associated with COVID and school closings beginning in March 2020.
- Some students may fall behind an entire school year and the most significant learning loss is expected for:
- Students from economically marginalized backgrounds
- Students in the lower primary grades
If we do not support these students’ learning now, research suggests that the negative impacts of COVID-19 will continue to undermine their learning and opportunity for years to come.
Below are just some of the ways that Helps Education Fund responded to COVID-19 to support at-home learning for the families and students we serve:
- When schools closed in March 2020 and all in-person literacy support was suspended, we immediately developed and piloted a model for virtually implementing our internationally recognized Helping Early Literacy with Practice Strategies (HELPS) reading program.
- During summer 2020, our staff and volunteers implemented HELPS in four different locations around the United States and we worked with even more school districts and partner organizations to plan for virtual HELPS support to take place internationally during the 2020-2021 school year.
- We partnered with local and national organizations to get parents free and immediate access to our Parents & Schools Together to Enhance Learning (PASTEL) guidebook, which offers more than 60 fun, easy-to-use, and evidence-based activities that can be used by parents/caregivers at home to improve their child’s literacy skills.
- We developed and offered parents and caregivers free, online informational sessions and support to assist them with using PASTEL.
- Consistent with our work since our founding, we continued to promote educational equity by prioritizing our support for students and families who are historically underserved, such as students and families of color and/or those who are economically marginalized.
You can support us by making a tax-deductible donation. Thank you!
Volunteer
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with us! It is because of our volunteers, folks just like you who donate their talents and time, that Helps Education Fund is able to achieve our mission of supporting educators, families, and community organizations and improving learning outcomes for students of all ages.
We offer community service opportunities no matter where you live; there are many ways for you to support our organization and mission.
Opportunities
If you are in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Chatham County, Durham, Greensboro, or Raleigh, NC, we are looking for committed volunteers to become tutors and support a child through our HELPS One-on-One program. Other volunteer opportunities (regardless of your location) include assistance with communication and outreach, video and material development, language translation, fundraising, serving on the governing board or a committee, and more. We welcome the opportunity to work with volunteers from across NC, the U.S., and the world!
To become a volunteer, please complete our volunteer registration form so we can learn more about your experience, interests and preferred volunteer activities. This information will help us to match you with the opportunity that you will find most fulfilling.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg residents who want to learn more about HELPS tutoring or sign up to become a tutor can visit our HELPS tutoring in Charlotte-Mecklenburg page.
Helps Education Fund is partnering with the YMCA and Wake County Public Schools to provide high dosage tutoring to students throughout the community. If you would like to learn more about this partnership or would like to volunteer please visit http://waketogether.ymcatriangle.org/.
If you would like to find out about group volunteering opportunities, please contact John Begeny at john@helpseducationfund.org.
Partner with Us
Our work would not be possible without the generous contributions and support of our corporate and community partners.
Corporate Partners
One of the goals of Helps Education Fund is to offer free and low cost programs and services to schools, families, and community organizations serving students from birth through adulthood. We are able to do this because of the financial contributions of our incredible corporate partners.
We offer a variety of corporate partnership & sponsorship opportunities.
Interested in becoming a corporate partner or want to learn more? Contact Dr. John Begeny at john@helpseducationfund.org
Community Partners
Helps Education Fund’s mission is to connect research with practice and engage teachers, parents/caregivers, and volunteers to improve student learning. In order to achieve this mission, we seek to create authentic collaborations with community partners such as:
- schools or after-school programs that provide the sites/locations where our programs or services can be delivered
- colleges, businesses, faith-based organizations, individuals, etc. to assist us with recruiting volunteers who could be trained to provide one of our programs (e.g., HELPS)
Interested in becoming a community partner or want to learn more? Contact Dr. John Begeny at john@helpseducationfund.org