OUR MISSION
Helps International is a nonprofit providing enduring programs of practical, social and spiritual value to people in the developing world through a system of partnership and mutual responsibility.
THE HELPS DIFFERENCE
SERVICE
We are guided by our strong commitment to service and the belief that we serve others best by working alongside them as they move toward independence. We know that handouts don’t work–but helping people help themselves does.
SUSTAINABILITY
Since 1984, we have worked on the ground in Guatemala to create quality programs and lasting partnerships. Because sustainability is at the core of everything we do, when you change lives with Helps, you change them for generations to come.
SCALABILITY
To use our resources most effectively, we rigorously evaluate our programs to ensure they bring value to communities and can be replicated on a large scale. We don’t just invest in programs–we invest in models for lasting change.
We're on a mission to change lives with sustainable solutions for breaking the cycle of poverty.
OUR HISTORY
1981
Steve Miller, an investment banker from Dallas, visited Guatemala for the first time at the height of the country's civil war.
1984
Helps International was founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Dallas, Texas. Community development teams began traveling to Guatemala to build homes for war widows.
1982
Steve began working with Paul Townsend, a missionary and translator, to bring aid to the people of the Quiché region, hardest hit by the war. In 1983, he brought a volunteer dental team to Guatemala.
1988
Our first surgical team of eight volunteers traveled to Guatemala. Since then, more than 200 health care teams have traveled with HELPS to provide care to over 275,000 people.
MEET OUR FOUNDER
"We're actively engaged in making a positive impact. Children are reading, people are walking again, women are breathing freely, clean water is accessible and families have the resources they need. We’re helping to transform families, communities, a country and even a region."
Steve Miller
Founder & President