Wolverhampton care home residents team up with local children for DIY project

Residents at Foxland Grange, on Wergs Road, 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 worked with the local community to teach them basic knitting skills as well as getting hands-on sanding and painting benches in the home’s garden. 

93-year-old resident, Kathleen Poole said: “It was fantastic seeing the children try new skills, feel the textures of the wool and teach them about knitting needles and pins!”

Katy Anderson, Home Manager at Foxland 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 the children for coming to the home to learn new repair 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.

Foxland Grange provides full-time residential, dementia and nursing care, as well as short-term respite care, in a luxury environment. Designed to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives, while also promoting independence, the home incorporates plenty of space for leisure activities and hobbies, and also has its own café, hair and beauty salon and gardens. The building has been configured into a series of neighbourhoods to facilitate the creation of close-knit communities and encourage social interaction among the residents.