New Social Application Gives Members Ability to Light a Candle in Honor of A Loved One; More than 5,000 Candles Shared Using Facebook Connect Integration

San Mateo, CA (September 22, 2009) Caring.com, the leading site for caregivers, is using social media to help support a cause or honor a loved one. Caring Candles brings together the emotion of caregiving with the interactivity of social media, allowing caregivers to share their caring experience with family and friends across their social networks, blogs and websites.

"Just as rubber wrist bracelets have been popular methods of generating awareness offline for social issues from breast cancer to wildlife preservation, online social applications are a new way for people to show support for an issue that is close to their hearts," said Andy Cohen, CEO and co-founder, Caring.com. "Caring Candles was developed with the purpose of giving our members an opportunity to show love for someone they have cared for in the past or are caring for currently."

While a wealth of information and resources on Caring.com help adult children make informed decisions about a parents’ care, Caring Candles fills an emotional need, giving caregivers a way to share their journey with others and feel less alone.

The response to Caring Candles shows the need for such outlets. More than 5,000 candles have been created since Caring Candles first launched, with approximately 2,200 candles created in the first month. The social application continues to grow in popularity, with new caregivers visiting the site daily to light a candle.

Much of Caring Candles’ success is due to the application’s ability to be easily shared with a caregivers’ social network. Facebook Connect integration has made it possible to share candles and encourage others to light their own, while an updated digest of new candles being lit is shared on Twitter @CaringCandles.

"Feeling alone takes an emotional toll on many caregivers. Often, they want to share their experiences, but aren’t quite sure how to do it. Caring Candles is a great way to share their experience with others, while paying honor to their loved one," said Cohen.

Caring Candles is the second successful social application from Caring.com. Its first effort, the Purple Ribbon, helped raise $10,000 to support Alzheimer’s research and education programs and continues to be popular among caregivers, with thousands of ribbons created to date.

About Caring.com Caring.com is a community

and content web site that provides people who are caring for aging parents with timesaving information to help them make better decisions. Founded in 2007 by a team of people who have taken care of their own aging parents, Caring.com is a free resource to users and is supported by advertisers. Caring.com is backed by leading venture investors DCM and Split Rock Partners. Caring.com is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and can be reached at http://www.caring.com.

Press Contact

Danielle Simmons
DMS Public Relations for Caring.com
(650) 991-8899
danielle@dmsprsf.com