Sutton Coldfield care home residents team up with schoolchildren for DIY project

A care home in Sutton Coldfield has joined forces with a local school and joined a nationwide campaign for International Repair Day.

Residents at Mercia Grange, on Lichfield Road in Four Oaks, have been rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck into some hands-on DIY – all in the name of sharing skills with the next generation.

As part of Care UK’s ‘Fixer Uppers’ programme, residents hosted a ‘stitch it, don’t ditch it’ session with Little Sutton Primary School, where the children learned basic cross-stitching skills using a pre-printed pattern. Together, they created take-home mini patches. 

89-year-old resident, Pat Daniel said: “I really enjoyed spending the morning get crafty and doing cross-stitch with the children. I have fond memories repairing clothes when I was younger instead of buying new ones, so it was lovely to share my top tips and tricks with the youngsters.”

Michael McNelis, General Manager at Mercia Grange, said: “Residents have honed their DIY skills over a lifetime, and the Fixer Uppers project has been a fantastic way for them to connect with young people and share practical knowledge in a meaningful way.

“It was wonderful to see everyone fully engaged and residents swapping stories, learning from one another and genuinely enjoying the process.

“We’d like to thank Little Sutton Primary School for coming to the home to learn some sewing skills. It was a brilliant afternoon and we look forward to many more visits in the future.”

Launched in the approach to International Repair Day, the initiative aims to revive traditional repair 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.

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

Mercia Grange is a state-of-the-art care home that provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. The three-storey home, which features 67 en suite bedrooms, has been designed to enable residents to live active and fulfilling lives, while also promoting independence. It incorporates plenty of space for leisure activities and hobbies, and includes its own cinema, hair and beauty salon and pub.