Sparks of Joy Guide

Sparks of Joy brings together bite-sized learning about dementia with small ways to show support for caregivers in the community. Here's a quick guide on how to create a Spark, unlock badges and share your encouragement through CARA.

Sparks of Joy introduction screen explaining what the feature is and how it works

Step 1

Open Sparks of Joy

From the CARA home screen, tap Sparks of Joy to get started.

Members of Public can create sparks while Caregivers and Persons Living with Dementia can create as well as collect sparks.

Sparks of Joy main screen showing daily progress and the Create a Spark button

Sparks of Joy badge status view showing current badge progress

Step 2

Tap “Create a Spark”

Here, you'll see your daily progress and the total number of Sparks shared by the community. Tap Create a Spark to begin your journey.

If you have signed up as a "Caregiver" or "Person Living with Dementia", you can also choose to Collect a spark.

Tap the light bulb to switch to your badge view and see your current badge and progress. Everyone starts as a CARA Champion. Keep creating Sparks to unlock new badges: Community Star at 50 Sparks and Knowledge Keeper at 150 Sparks.

Send up to six sparks daily!
Sparks limit resets at midnight.

Quiz screen with three questions about dementia caregiving

Step 3

Answer 3 quick questions

Answer three bite-sized questions about dementia. Each question is designed to help you learn something new before creating your Spark. Tap on "Learn More" after answering a question to read more about the topic.

There are no scores to worry about, just learn something new and create your Spark!

Create Your Spark screen showing a message preview and a list of messages to choose from

Create Your Spark screen showing emoji selection

Step 4

Send your Spark

Choose a note of encouragement and an emoji to go with it. Preview your Spark, then send it to the light bank (bulb), where a caregiver or person with dementia can collect your spark when they need a little encouragement!

If you would like to contribute encouragement messages for the Sparks of Joy feature, you can submit them here.

Keep sending Sparks daily to unlock badges such as Community Star and Knowledge Keeper!

Confirmation screen showing the Spark is on its way

Step 5

Your Spark is on the way!

Your Spark is now in the light bank, ready for a fellow CARA member to collect. When someone collects your Spark, you'll receive a notification on the CARA app.

Ready to send your first Spark?

Open the CARA app, tap the Sparks of Joy tile on your home screen, and follow the steps above.

Open the CARA App

How to Collect a Spark

For Caregivers and Persons Living with Dementia

Sparks of Joy screen showing the Collect a Spark button

Step 1

Tap “Collect a Spark”

Tap into the feature and select Collect a spark.

Screen showing an encouraging message collected from the CARA community

Step 2

See what's waiting for you

Your Spark is collected! A message of encouragement from someone in the CARA community will be revealed from the light bank.

Need a little lift? You can come back to collect a Spark anytime you need a little encouragement.

Screen showing the option to send a spark to other caregivers

Step 3

Pass it forward

Tap Send a Spark too! to also send sparks of encouragement to others in the CARA community.