Donate. Collect. Consolidate. Distribute. Use.

The process is very simple. We leave small plastic boxes at participating locations so that tourists and DC residents can donate their leftover fare cards. Each donation box has a sign explaining the program and directing people to our website. We visit the participating locations every month to collect the donated fare cards. Then we count each card and consolidate them on SmartTrip cards worth $100. We always send update emails to the FareShare sponsors at each location so that they know how much their donation box collected since the last pick-up.

FareShare Donation Box

The final step of the process is to deliver the SmartTrip cards to the case managers at Ignatia House, All Faith Consortium, and Southeast Vets. These case managers are responsible for distributing the fare cards to the homeless veterans living at the shelter. Veterans use the cards to travel to interviews, jobs, and the VA hospital. When a veteran has used up the total value of his SmarTrip card, they return it in exchange for a new SmarTrip card.

Veterans at Ignatia House