Impact
Hillsborough students can now log volunteer hours digitally
Tampa-based startup Profferfish replaces paper logs with an online system now used by Hillsborough County Public Schools.
A Tampa startup is changing how high school students document community service hours – just in time for back-to-school season.
Hillsborough County Public Schools has partnered with Profferfish, a digital platform that allows students to log and submit volunteer hours online, replacing the traditional paper forms. The change is aimed at simplifying a process that often becomes a logistical headache for students applying to colleges and scholarships.
The system is already being used across dozens of schools and, according to Profferfish, has helped students log more than 2 million volunteer hours. For students applying to Florida’s Bright Futures scholarship program, which requires verified service hours, the shift to digital recordkeeping is a notable one.
“When the district asked for proof of my service hours over the past four years, it could have been a nightmare with paper forms,” said Emerson Shepherd, a recent graduate who used the platform to apply for Bright Futures. “But everything was already in Profferfish. We just downloaded the records and sent them in.”
The company’s founder, Heather DePalma, said the tool was created to reduce friction in a process that affects both students and school staff. “We created Profferfish as a digital solution that makes it easier and encourages more volunteering,” she said in a sprepared statement.
Student logging hours on Profferfish. Photo provided.
Districts that use the platform report up to an 80% increase in students logging hours and a 60% reduction in time spent by counselors managing records, according to data provided by the company. The platform also gives students access to a consolidated view of their service activity over four years, which can be shared with colleges or employers.
This year, Profferfish added a new feature: personal accounts. That option allows students not affiliated with a participating school to log and verify hours independently. It also includes tools for finding volunteer or paid opportunities and generating shareable records. Parents can use the system to view and sign off on hours.
For Hillsborough students, the move signals a broader shift toward digitizing parts of the college admissions process – especially as scholarship programs like Bright Futures require increasingly specific documentation.
Profferfish is based in Tampa and is available to students and families at profferfish.com.
