Country of Residence
United States
Age
17
Project title
ShelterStock
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
ShelterStock is a free, all-in-one digital management platform transforming homeless shelter operations by streamlining inventory, client intake, donations, and volunteer coordination — replacing hours of paperwork with technology that lets shelters focus on what matters most: the people they serve.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://shelterstock.vercel.app/
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Scaling (We’re expanding impact to new locations or in new and innovative ways)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
During an afternoon volunteering at a local homeless shelter, I watched a staff member balance a clipboard against her arm, counting pantry items one by one and recording totals on a sheet of paper. When I asked why they still tracked everything manually, she shrugged. "It takes forever, but what other choice do we have?" I couldn't stop thinking about that question. Here was someone dedicating her days to helping people, yet spending hours fighting a system that should have been helping her. The problem wasn't that she lacked the willingness to work harder. It was that nobody had given her a better option. That was my "aha" moment: what if the most valuable thing I could contribute wasn't another afternoon of volunteering, but something that could give her those hours back every week? That night, I started building with a friend. We envisioned a platform that could replace the clipboards, spreadsheets, and expensive software that small shelters struggled to navigate. We called it ShelterStock. When we returned with out first version, I watched that same staff member's face light up as she realized how much time she could save. I saw the potential of what we'd started; not just to help one shelter, but to give countless others the same relief. ShelterStock began with a question I couldn't accept: What other choice do we have? I wanted to build an answer.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Growing up, I saw homelessness in two very different places: the crowded streets of Chennai, India, where I spent my summers visiting family, and Denton, Texas, where I now attend school. Despite being thousands of miles apart, both places confronted me with the same uncomfortable reality: people struggling to meet their most basic needs while the organizations trying to help them stretched every resource they had. That's what first drew me to volunteer at local shelters in Denton. I wanted to do something tangible for the community I was becoming part of. However, the more time I spent there, the more I noticed a problem that rarely gets talked about: the enormous amount of work happening behind the scenes just to keep a shelter running. Staff were juggling paper inventories, tracking donations by hand, and managing information through disconnected systems. Every hour spent organizing records was an hour that couldn't be spent helping someone find a meal, a bed, or a path toward stability. Yet tools to simplify these tasks were often too expensive or complicated for smaller nonprofits. I realized that volunteering gave shelters more hands, but better systems could give them more time. And time was something they desperately needed. I didn't want my impact to end when my volunteer shift did. I wanted to build something that kept helping long after I left.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
ShelterStock turns hours of paperwork into minutes of work. It is built as a completely free, all-in-one digital operations platform designed specifically for the realities of running a homeless shelter. Instead of juggling clipboards and spreadsheets, shelter staff can manage their daily operations from one centralized interface. Our inventory system lets staff track food, clothing, hygiene products, and other essentials in real time, making it easier to identify shortages before they become emergencies. Our client management system digitizes intake records, allowing staff to quickly retrieve information and avoid repetitive paperwork. Integrated donor and volunteer management tools organize contributions, track engagement, and simplify coordination, allowing shelters to focus on people rather than logistics. But what makes ShelterStock different isn't just want it does. It's how we build it. After our initial launch, shelter staff told us that even our first version required too many steps during busy intake times. We had designed a system that worked technically perfect, but hadn't fully considered what it meant to use it while managing a line of people waiting for assistance. Rather than asking staff to adjust their routines, we returned to observe their workdays, listened to their frustrations, and rebuilt the interface around one-tap actions. Today, we're extending this approach beyond traditional shelter management. For one organization we partnered with, we developed a class scheduling and registration system where clients can browse available programs, register for classes, indicate childcare needs, while administrators manage sessions and rosters.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Today, ShelterStock has expanded beyond that first shelter to collectively serving over 21,000 individuals across all shelters. Partner shelters report saving 10+ staff hours every week and reducing client intake by approximately 50%. That's time returned to staff who can now spend it distributing meals, connecting families with resources, and supporting people through some of their hardest moments. Our impact has also grown beyond our original platform. We developed a class scheduling system for a partner organization serving approximately 3,500 individuals, making it easier for clients to access educational and support programs. ShelterStock's work has been featured in the Denton Record-Chronicle newspaper, and we've been invited to present at the Texas Volunteer Management Conference, which brings together representatives from over 200 organizations and reaches all 50 states. When we started, success meant convincing one shelter to take a chance on something two of us had built. Now we're working toward a future where a shelter's ability to serve its community isn't limited by its budget or access to technology. I want ShelterStock to reach a point where no shelter has to choose between investing in its operations and investing in the people who depend on it.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Many initiatives addressing homelessness focus on raising awareness, organizing donation drives, or recruiting volunteers. These efforts are essential, but I keep wondering: what happens when the organizations receiving all this support lack the systems to make the most of it? ShelterStock approaches homelessness from a different angle. Rather than only bringing more resources into shelters, we're improving the systems that determine how effectively those resources reach people. A donation drive may bring in 100s of donations, but without an efficient way to track inventory, staff can struggle to know what's available and what's needed most. We're not simply advocating for change; we're building a system to make it possible. Existing shelter management software presents another challenge. Many platforms are expensive, overly complicated, or designed for larger organizations with dedicated IT staff. Smaller shelters are often left choosing between software they can't afford and manual process they can't sustain. ShelterStock eliminates that trade-off. Our completely free platform integrates all of their operations into a single interface without the financial or technical barriers that often prevent smaller nonprofits from adopting digital tools. But accessibility means more than removing a price tag. It means designing technology around the people who use it. Rather than developing a fixed product and expecting shelters to adapt, we treat staff feedback as an ongoing part of the development. Their daily routines, constraints, and suggestions directly shape what we build and improve. Awareness brings attention to a problem. Volunteering brings people wiling to help. ShelterStock gives those people better tools to turn their efforts into lasting change.
How many people are on your team?
10
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
ShelterStock began with just me and my co-founder. We built the platform, partnered directly with shelters, and managed its initial deployment. To expand our reach, we recruited 10 student leaders internationally, empowering them to introduce ShelterStock to shelters in their own communities. Through weekly meetings, progress updates, and collaborative problem-solving, we share ownership of our mission, giving students worldwide the opportunity to lead meaningful change in their own communities.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next year, our first priority is expanding adoption. We've been invited to present at conferences that connect us with organizations, and we'll use this opportunity to build partnerships with nonprofit leaders, demonstrate ShelterStock, and establish a network of shelters interested in implementing our platform. Second, we want to strengthen our international student leadership network. By recruiting and training more student ambassadors, we can create a model where young people identify shelters in their own communities, introduce ShelterStock, and provide ongoing implementation support. Rather than relying solely on two founders, we want to make expansion community-driven and sustainable. Third, we'll continue developing alongside our partner shelters. Our recent class scheduling platform revealed how many operational challenges extend beyond inventory and intake. We plan to expand these tools, improve accessibility, and create simpler onboarding resources so shelters with limited technical experience can adopt ShelterStock by themselves. Ultimately, I want ShelterStock to outgrow its founders. Success would mean creating a self-sustaining network of students and shelters where each new partnership makes it easier for the next organization to receive support.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
I believe the best way to inspire someone to make a difference is to show them that they already have the ability to do so. ShelterStock began with two of us and a shared frustration, but as we worked with shelters, I realized the problem wasn't unique to Denton. Shelters worldwide faced this challenge, and students in those communities could help us reach them. When recruiting students, I don't begin by explaining our software. I ask them to think about a problem in their community they've noticed but never imagined they could solve. Then I tell them how our project began: two teenagers, a clipboard, and a question nobody seemed to have an answer to. We wanted joining ShelterStock to mean more than another extracurricular. Each student builds relationships with shelters in their region, understanding their needs, and helping introduce a solution. In weekly meetings, we troubleshoot challenges, exchange strategies, and celebrate progress. I've watched students grow from hesitant newcomers into leaders confidently approaching nonprofit directors and advocating for their communities. What excites me most isn't just getting more people involved in ShelterStock. It's changing what they believe they're capable of. I want every student who joins us to realize they don't need to wait for a degree, a job title, or permission to make something better. They can start now.
