Thursday, October 1, 2015
"There are currently 235 million missing meals in New York City, and nearly one in five residents lack reliable access to nutritious food," said Andra Tomsa, founder and President of Spare Change Inc., the company behind the app. "If 10 percent of New Yorkers round up for a total of $6 each month, we can close the hunger gap in just one year."
Philip R. Warth, former Chief Executive Officer of Feeding America, said, "Spare is a timely idea that reflects passion and a very clear mission and goal." Warth, who manages a private equity firm, invited guests to dig deep and join Spare's growing movement, which he said will reward followers spiritually and financially. "My money is on its complete success," he said.
Approximately 200 people attended Spare's media launch, including program partners Food Bank for New York City, New York City Rescue Mission and Citymeals-on-Wheels. Local and state officials included Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Bronx Borough presidents and Grace W. Cheung, Director of Digital Communications for The State of New York.
"New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo would like to convey his congratulations and support," said Cheung. "Entrepreneurship and innovative apps are important to the state."
Rameet Chawla, CEO of Fueled, described Spare as being "at the intersection of technology and philanthropy." Chawla and the Fueled team developed the app and plan to continue to enhance the program while expanding its reach to select markets around the globe. Additional updates on the company's road map include donation leader boards and inter-user gifting. Spare works with security providers Plaid Technologies Inc. and Braintree, a division of PayPal Inc., to protect cardholder data.
As she reflected on her vision and mission, Tomsa cited her lifelong passion to correct inequality, which led to her earning a masters degree in international political economics and development at Fordham University. Tomsa, who lives in the South Bronx with her three-year-old son, has appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres, Daily News and New York 1 television shows. She has also presented at Money20/20 and the International Women's Day Conference and, in the Dominican Republic, as an invited guest of Vice President Margarita Cedeño Fernández.
Tomsa's parents, who attended the event, recalled that Tomsa was a baby when they left Romania to settle in the United States. She became interested in philanthropic causes at an early age, they said. In her travels to Romania as a teenager, Tomsa was impressed by the economic disparity between the United States and her birth country and vowed to do something about it. Later on, while supporting herself by bartending during her undergraduate years, she was struck by how much money New Yorkers were casually spending in bars and restaurants. This prompted her outreach to the hospitality industry, where she rapidly gained the support of food banks, restaurants and technology companies interested in redirecting a small portion of bar and restaurant spend to feed hungry New Yorkers. The Spare app was launched in May 2014.
The Spare smartphone application works on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The app, which is free to users and can be found at the Apple App Store, requires iOS Version 8.0. English, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish language versions are also available. And Spare users receive detailed reporting on their tax-deductible donations.
While they can round up bar and restaurant tabs at any restaurant, users can earn awards at participating partner venues, such as Luzzo's Group, City Hall Restaurant, Parlor Steakhouse and The Writing Room, through Spare's frequency program. Users who round up three times a month receive a free drink. Those who round up five times receive a complimentary appetizer or dessert. A $15 discount off the next bill is given to users who round up 10 times or more per month.
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