What help2read does

help2read is a registered non-profit literacy organisation founded in 2005 by Alex Moss, with South African operations dating from a 2006 pilot at Muizenberg Junior School in the Western Cape. It delivers one-on-one and small-group reading support to primary school learners in under-resourced township communities across the Western Cape and Gauteng, using a methodology adapted from the UK's Beanstalk (Volunteer Reading Help) programme. Its portfolio centres on two core programmes — the Volunteer Reading Helper programme, in which trained community members donate at least two hours per week to work with struggling readers using curated Book Boxes (books, games, stationery, worksheets), and the Literacy Tutor programme, which recruits, trains, and stipends unemployed township youth aged 18-35 to deliver reading support as paid community workers, with each tutor serving approximately 12 children. Supplementary offerings include Holiday Reading Clubs, literacy resource guides for parents and educators, and ad-hoc community activations through partners such as Nal'ibali, Constitution Hill, and Sci-Bono Discovery Centre.

The organisation does not operate a technology platform; programme delivery is human-led, face-to-face, and pedagogy-driven. Operations are managed from a Cape Town office (with Janet Bruwer and Mandy Trevor among named South African staff) and a Johannesburg team covering Alexandra township schools, overseen by Managing Director Lynn Campbell and chaired by founder Alex Moss. The organisation is triple-registered as a South African Non-Profit (063-979), a Public Benefit Organisation with SARS (PBO 930027054, enabling Section 18A tax-deductible donations), and a UK Charity (Reg No. 1109567), with a registered office in Gislingham, Suffolk.

help2read's revenue is philanthropic, drawn from individual donations via tiered monthly giving (R50-R1,000) and a R25,000 'Transform a School' one-off package, plus corporate and institutional grants from anchor funders such as the Hogan Lovells YES Programme, Brenley Trust, Waterloo Foundation, Linklaters, Lockwood Charitable Foundation, and De Beers trustees. Fundraising is also generated through events including the annual London 'Shine a Light on Literacy' Gala Dinner (which raised over £100,000 in 2017), Big Give matched-funding campaigns, and sporting-event charity partnerships such as the FNB Cape Town 12 ONERUN and ABSA Cape Epic. The organisation has cumulatively served 23,000 children across 400+ schools since 2006 and has received formal recognition from the Western Cape Education Department and the SA Chamber of Commerce.

Name

help2read

Legal name

help2read

Website

https://help2read.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

help2read is a South African non-profit (with UK charitable registration) that delivers one-on-one reading support in under-resourced primary schools via trained Volunteer Reading Helpers and a paid Literacy Tutor programme employing unemployed township youth, operating across the Western Cape and Gauteng.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Literacy Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Literacy Intervention & Dyslexia Support Programs (Gen Ed) (EDAJAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

K–12 Remedial Reading & Literacy Intervention (EDANAJAA), Literacy & Reading Intervention (Phonics, Fluency, Comprehension) (EDAKADAA)

Keywords

• Literacy tutoring
• Reading intervention
• Volunteer education
• Primary school literacy
• Children literacy programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: help2read relies on donations from individuals, both one-time and recurring monthly gifts. Donations are tax-deductible in South Africa via Section 18A certificates (PBO 930027054) and in the UK (Charity Reg No. 1109567). Individual donors can contribute via the website, direct bank deposit, or through campaigns such as the Big Give Christmas Challenge.
2. Corporate & Institutional Grants/Funding: help2read receives funding from corporate partners, foundations, and institutional donors. This includes anchor funders such as Hogan Lovells (YES Programme), the Brenley Trust, Waterloo Foundation, and Lockwood Charitable Foundation, as well as event-based charity partnerships (e.g., FNB Cape Town 12 ONERUN, ABSA Cape Epic). Funds support Literacy Tutor stipends, programme expansion, and operational costs.
3. School Sponsorship & Transform-a-School: Corporates and high-net-worth donors can sponsor individual schools via a R25,000 once-off 'Transform a School' donation covering recruitment, training, materials, and programme administration for a full school. Monthly corporate sponsorships at R1,000/month sustain ongoing programme delivery at a partner primary school.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

help2read is a South African non-profit that delivers literacy support to under-resourced primary school children through two structured programs: the Volunteer Reading Helper Programme, which places trained community volunteers in schools to provide one-on-one reading practice, and the Literacy Tutor Programme, which deploys funded tutors to deliver more intensive reading intervention. The organization also supplies Book Boxes as a tangible reading resource to participating schools.

Product overview

help2read is a non-profit literacy organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs centered on improving reading outcomes for South African primary school children. The core offerings include the Volunteer Reading Helper Programme, which provides one-on-one reading support through trained community volunteers, and the Literacy Tutor Programme, which trains unemployed township youth to deliver literacy assistance while gaining work experience. These programs are supported by Book Boxes containing books, games, and literacy materials used during reading sessions. The organization also runs Holiday Reading Clubs during school breaks and provides educational resources and guides for parents and educators. Together, these programs form a comprehensive approach to addressing South Africa's literacy crisis by combining direct learner support with community capacity building.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Volunteer Reading Helper Programme A program that places trained community volunteers in under-resourced primary schools in the Western Cape and Gauteng to provide one-on-one and small-group reading practice to foundation-phase learners at no cost to the school or learner.
• Literacy Tutor Programme A funded, more structured reading intervention program in which paid literacy tutors are deployed into partner primary schools to deliver intensive reading support to learners who need additional assistance beyond what volunteer reading helpers can provide.
• Book Boxes A tangible resource tool used by help2read to supply age-appropriate reading materials to participating primary schools and learners, supporting literacy practice between tutor and volunteer sessions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 23,000 children helped to learn to read since 2006 across 400+ schools
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Beanstalk (formerly Volunteer Reading Help, UK)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006help2read's methodology was adapted from Beanstalk (founded in the UK in 1973), originally called Volunteer Reading Help (VRH). help2read founder Alex Moss was a VRH volunteer; after travelling to South Africa he brought the model to Mzansi. Beanstalk's founder Susan Belgrave visited the help2read team in South Africa and the organisations maintain an ongoing sister-charity relationship with learning share visits. Beanstalk provided training materials and methodology guidance to help2read's founding team.
• Constitution HillcoreStrategic or Co-development Partnerhelp2read partnered with Constitution Hill to participate in the 2nd Human Rights Festival (21-24 March 2019), facilitating fun reading activities at the Kiddies Corner (Kids Zone). Community Literacy Tutors from Diepsloot attended workshops on the Bill of Rights and NGO Methodical Approach, and engaged children in interactive reading activities, puppet shows, and art during the festival.
• FNB (First National Bank) — Cape Town 12 ONERUNminorGTM or Marketing Partnerhelp2read was chosen as the 4th charity partner for the FNB Cape Town 12 ONERUN 2019 (19 May 2019). Runners could purchase charity tickets (R500 each, 100 entries allocated), make donations during online registration, or sign up to run for help2read. The partnership raised visibility and funds for the literacy programme.
• Groenendal LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development Partnerhelp2read and Groenendal Library collaborated to launch a Reading Competition during South African Library Week 2019 (18-24 March). 15 young children participated with support from help2read Community Literacy Tutors. The event showcased collaborative reading promotion between the library and help2read.
• Sci-Bono Discovery CentreminorStrategic or Co-development Partnerhelp2read was invited to participate in the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre's International Literacy Day 2017 programme in Johannesburg. help2read's Jozi team hosted three groups of 30 learners each from Noordgesig, Rutegang, and Ditawana Primary Schools at the centre.
• Herbal Life (South Africa)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAs part of Herbalife Nutrition's Global Month of Purpose, the Herbal Life SA team committed reading time to learners at Cecil Road Primary School in Cape Town and collected books for donation. help2read thanked the team for 'giving the gift of literacy'.
• Nal'ibalicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNal'ibali is a South African reading-for-enjoyment campaign and NGO. help2read's Literacy Tutors attended Nal'ibali training to learn how to deliver exciting extramural community reading clubs and foster a love of reading among learners. Nal'ibali also features in help2read's 'Who Is Who In Literacy' blog series.
• Renee Lighton (Educational Consultant)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerRenee Lighton, an educational consultant, delivered a workshop to help2read Literacy Tutors in the Western Cape (March 2017) on practical tips and ideas for engaging children in literacy-based activities. The workshop covered using games, magazines, and waste-to-educational-games as literacy aids.
• Western Cape Education Department (WCED)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe WCED was present at the founding pilot at Muizenberg Junior School in 2006 and has provided ongoing endorsement and support for help2read's work in Western Cape schools. The department formally acknowledged help2read's contribution during its 10th anniversary in 2016.
• Olivedale Corner Shopping CentreminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDuring National Book Week 2017, help2read set up a 'Drop Everything And Read' activation at Olivedale Corner Shopping Centre in Johannesburg, encouraging shoppers to read and spread the literacy message. A book sale also erupted from the event.
• ABSA (Team ABSA-lutely)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerABSA's 'ABSA-lutely' team used the Absa Cape Epic mountain biking race to raise funds for help2read, raising over R80,000. help2read was a nominated charity beneficiary of the team's fundraising effort.
• University of Cape Town (UCT) & Stellenbosch University StudentsminorGTM or Marketing Partner13 students from UCT and Stellenbosch cycled from Cape Town to Keurboom over 11 days in December, raising R25,000 for help2read. Funds supported programmes at five partner schools, impacting over 300 learners.
• Leopard's Leap VineyardminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLeopard's Leap Vineyard donated South African wine for the drinks reception at the 2017 'Shine a Light on Literacy' Gala Dinner in London, supporting the fundraising event.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FunDza Literacy Trust: South African NGO providing relevant, accessible reading material and reading clubs to disadvantaged youth. FunDza was featured in help2read's 'Who Is Who In Literacy' series and targets an overlapping beneficiary base of South African children and youth.
• Shine Literacy: South African literacy NGO profiled by help2read in its 'Who Is Who In Literacy' blog. Shine Literacy runs volunteer-supported reading interventions in under-resourced primary schools, directly comparable to help2read's Volunteer Reading Helper programme.
• Nal'ibali: South African reading-for-enjoyment campaign and NGO that trains community members to run reading clubs. Help2read's Literacy Tutors attend Nal'ibali training, and the two are explicitly compared in help2read's 'Who Is Who In Literacy' series, making them closely aligned mission peers in the SA literacy nonprofit landscape.
• Book Dash: South African non-profit that creates and freely distributes new African storybooks for children. Book Dash tackles the same access-to-age-appropriate-reading-material gap as help2read's Book Boxes and shares the South African primary school beneficiary base.
• Biblionef South Africa: South African arm of Biblionef, distributing free books to children who would otherwise have no access to reading material. Profiled by help2read in its 'Who Is Who In Literacy' series, addressing the same literacy-resource-access gap that help2read's Book Boxes target.
• Wordworks: South African early-literacy organisation working with young children, parents, and schools. Wordworks is referenced in help2read's literacy ecosystem coverage and addresses overlapping language and literacy outcomes in the same Western Cape and broader SA primary school context.
• Funda Wande: South African literacy non-profit featured in help2read's 'Who Is Who In Literacy' series. Funda Wande focuses on mother-tongue-based literacy in early grades, serving the same under-resourced primary school segment in South Africa as help2read.
• The Bookery: South African non-profit focused on setting up school libraries in under-resourced schools, profiled by help2read as part of its literacy ecosystem. The Bookery addresses the same access-to-books problem that help2read's Book Box programme mitigates.

Broad incumbents

• Room to Read: Global non-profit operating across multiple countries with literacy and gender equality programmes. Although not South Africa-focused, Room to Read is a comparable large-scale, volunteer- and partner-supported literacy organisation and serves as an international benchmark for help2read's operating model.

Regional players

• Living Through Learning: South African literacy non-profit working in township and rural primary schools. Living Through Learning addresses the same under-resourced primary-school literacy segment and operates in overlapping South African geographies, making it a regional comparability peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/help2read
• Facebookfacebook.com/help2read
• Instagraminstagram.com/help2readsouthafrica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/help2read

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about help2read