Stratford care home residents nail DIY projects

A care home in Stratford-upon-Avon has been celebrating residents’ skills by joining a nationwide campaign for International Repair Day.

Residents at Ambleside care home, on Evesham Road in Dodwell, have been rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck into some hands-on DIY – all in the name of sharing skills.

As part of Care UK’s ‘Fixer Uppers’ programme, residents welcomed volunteers from Welford Repair Café to bring back to life kitchen appliances. Residents also worked with children from Precious Little Smiles Day Nursery to paint bird boxes. 

Jenny Sutton, aged 86 said: “It’s important to fix things instead of throwing them away, it saves money, and you get a lovely feeling when you’ve done it - a sense of satisfaction. I loved seeing the children; it was quite emotional watching them build their bird boxes. It’s so important to teach children how to fix things - it’ll help them later in life.”

Launched on the approach to 18 October’s International Repair Day, the initiative aims to revive traditional skills – such as fixing furniture, mending clothes and tackling small maintenance jobs – and celebrate the invaluable knowledge older generations can pass on while promoting sustainability.

Charlotte Levin, Home Manager at Ambleside, said: “The Fixer Uppers project has been a fantastic way to bring residents and the community together to learn new skills and rediscover the satisfaction of DIY.

“The hands-on session with Welford Repair Café gave residents the opportunity to try their hand at a range of practical tasks, including restoring old appliances, all while enjoying the camaraderie and sense of achievement that comes from creating something useful.

“We’d like to say a big thank you to the Welford Repair Café volunteers for generously sharing their time, tools, and expertise and to Precious Little Smiles Day Nursery for joining us to decorate bird boxes – it’s been a real pleasure working together!”

To find out more about Fixer Uppers, please visit careuk.com/Fixer-Uppers.

Ambleside is a state-of-the-art care home that provides full-time residential and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable its residents to lead enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the home boasts its very own cinema, café and hair and beauty salon, and there is plenty of space – both indoors and out – for relaxation and recreation.