S.O.S., Inc. was founded by Ford Cauffiel, a Toledo, Ohio industrialist, inventor and entrepreneur, whose primary business, Cauffiel Machinery, designs, builds, refurbishes and installs heavy industrial equipment.

In 1989, Cauffiel became concerned about the problems of public education and was determined to try some of the techniques that had worked for him in business in a public school. In his companies, new employees were generally trained by more senior employees, rather than by outside trainers or consultants.

By using the human resources already in his organization, Cauffiel's employees were trained quickly and efficiently.

Cauffiel contacted the superintendent of the Perrysburg, Ohio public schools, who was willing to try Cauffiel's idea. With money donated personally by Cauffiel, Perrysburg set up the first contemporary peer tutoring program in Ohio.

By the end of the school year, the program was such a success that the Perrysburg school officials asked Cauffiel if he would support a student- to-student tutoring program every year. Shortly afterwards, S.O.S., Inc. was chartered for the purpose of funding, developing and promoting peer tuturing programs.

The idea of paying older and more accomplished students to tutor younger and less proficient ones spread throughout Northwest Ohio, as S.O.S. attracted numerous corporate, personal and institutional supporters.

In 1998, S.O.S., Inc. hired its first full-time president, James F. Trumm, to oversee the expansion of the program beyond the Northwest Ohio region.