Discover
A pin drops on the map.
Opportunities near you, real orgs, real hours, filtered down in one click.
- Map + list view, side-by-side
- Filter by category, type, date, funding
- Nearby radius uses your location, not your address
About Volbase
Opportunitiesshouldn'tdependon
who you know.
I'm a high schooler from Michigan. I got tired of watching students open fifteen tabs, hit dead links, and still come up empty. At some point I thought, someone has to fix this. Turns out that someone was me.
Chapter 01
The problem.
Fifteen tabs. Dead links. A junior year spent copy-pasting the same essay prompt into Google and finding nothing. Every kid I know has some version of this story.
The kids who find the good opportunities aren't the ones who deserve them most. They're the ones with a parent who works at a hospital, or an older sibling who handed down a spreadsheet, or a school counselor with time.
That's not fair. It's also not a secret, everyone knows. It's just that nobody built the thing yet.
doe.gov/volunteerhandshake.comlocalnonprofit.orgsummer-programs-michiganmom's friend's emailreddit.com/r/highschoolopportunities… (404)not again
→ one tab. one place. volbase.
Chapter 02
The idea.
One place. Every opportunity local to you. Apply without the headache. Keep a verified record of everything you do. Nothing fancy, just the thing that should have existed.
Oct 2025
First commit
A blank Next.js repo and a note file called 'ideas.md'. Most of the notes were bad.
Dec 2025
First opportunity listed
A local nonprofit in Ann Arbor posted a food-drive shift. I refreshed the page thirty times.
Feb 2026
Verified hours + transcript
The part that actually matters for college apps. Hours get signed off by the org, not the student.
Mar 2026
Scholarship essays
Any student can earn Pro free by writing about where they want to go. First essay approved in 72 hours.
Now
Opening it up
MVP is most of the way there. This page is part of that.
Chapter 03
How it works. in three steps
Discover what fits you. Apply on the organizer's site. We make the first step a one-page search instead of fifteen tabs.
Submitted
Under review
Accepted
Apply
Your application moves.
One click for volunteering. Short essay for internships. Watch it move from pending to accepted without refreshing.
- Apply with your saved profile in under a minute
- Real-time status: submitted → review → decision
- Messages with the org live inside your dashboard
Transcript
Verified
Prove it
Hours, signed and stamped.
Orgs verify the work. You export a clean transcript. Admissions actually believes it.
- Org-signed hours, not self-reported
- Reviews from the supervisor, not a rating widget
- Export a PDF transcript you can send anywhere
Chapter 04
The mission.
“Make sure ambition is the only thing that decides where you end up, not your zip code or who your parents know.”
Any student on Volbase can write a short essay and unlock Pro for free. No paywalls disguised as “freemium”, no parents required. Every dollar the platform makes goes back into students, scholarships, program fees, the occasional bus ticket.
This isn't a corporation. It's a tool built by a student for students. That's the whole thing.
Chapter 05
What's next.
The MVP is most of the way there. The pieces below are what comes next, and why I'm raising $3,000 to get there.
Outreach to 200 orgs
Michigan first, then Ohio and Illinois. Nonprofits, hospitals, summer programs.
First 1,000 students
Real accounts, real applications, real hours logged and verified.
Mobile polish
The phone is where students actually apply. Phone app coming next.
Scholarship fund v1
A small pool for students who earn Pro and need help getting to the program.
FAQ
Still wondering?
One curated home for the volunteer programs, internships, and summer opportunities high schoolers actually want — without fifteen tabs and dead links.
Get started in minutes
If you think every kid should have a real shot at real experience, this is how we make it happen. Let's go.