The HELPS Education Fund is the non-profit foundation that is used to support teachers' free access to the HELPS Program materials.

This Fund is also used to support students' overall educational success, particularly for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Through the HELPS Education Fund, teachers and schools can apply to receive free educational services related to reading instruction. Teachers and schools can also apply for free educational materials beyond the free, downloadable materials offered from this website.

The HELPS Education Fund is financially supported in two ways. First, rather than downloading the HELPS Program materials for free from this website, teachers or schools can opt to purchase a set of pre-assembled, professionally developed HELPS Program materials (for only $45 per set). Second, individuals or organizations can make tax-deductable donations directly to the Fund. 100% of proceeds from purchased HELPS materials and 100% of donations to The HELPS Education Fund are used to improve educational outcomes for students.

The Helping Early Literacy with Practice Strategies (HELPS) Programs integrate easy-to-use instructional strategies that are specifically designed to improve students reading fluency.

Reading researchers and educators generally agree that the essential components of early elementary reading instruction should target phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. However, many argue that reading fluency is commonly neglected as a part of a student's core reading curriculum. As such, the primary goal of HELPS Programs is to strengthen students reading fluency. As students improve reading fluency, they are better able to focus on and improve other important reading skills, including comprehension. Because all students must develop reading fluency in order to become more successful readers, HELPS can be used with students of all reading-ability levels.

Furthermore, HELPS was designed so that multiple types of teachers (such as regular education teachers, special education teachers, teacher assistants, school psychologists, reading specialists, librarians, and school volunteers) can implement HELPS with the many students who will likely benefit from the Program.