A care home in Ashford has unveiled its revamped outdoor spaces after taking part in a nationwide initiative.
Residents and team members at Care UK’s Montfort Manor, on Kennington Road, have been rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck into some hands-on home improvements – all in the name of sharing skills.
As part of Care UK’s ‘Fixer Uppers’ programme, residents, their families and the home’s Maintenance Manager Paul Scriviner renovated the outdoor area, which included building brand-new garden furniture out of recycled pallets, and decorating it to brighten up the garden area. The residents chose the paint colour themselves and, assisted by members of the team, got stuck into the design, all while sharing memories of their own attempts at outdoor DIY and the lessons learnt along the way.
Resident Glynn said: “I really enjoyed getting stuck into the design and painting of the benches and working as a team with the rest of my friends at Montfort. I feel it is very important to reuse items that would only get thrown away, so it was great to be able to use the pallets and recycle them. I love doing all of the activities here – they have made my life more rewarding and I feel part of something.”
The Fixer Uppers 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.
Joanne Eaton, Home Manager at Montfort Manor, said: “Our maintenance team consistently go above and beyond maintaining the care home and supporting meaningful activities for residents. Their involvement in the Fixer Uppers project has made a real difference, and it’s been wonderful to watch residents build on their talents under their guidance while connecting with young people.
“Many residents have spent years honing their DIY abilities, so taking part in hands on workshops with our skilled maintenance team has been incredibly rewarding. With such positive feedback from residents, we’re already planning the next session, and it can’t come soon enough.”
“We’d like to thank the residents, their families and team members for dedicating their time to give Montfort Manor such a wonderful makeover. It was a brilliant project and we look forward to many more in the future.”
To find out more about Fixer Uppers, please visit careuk.com/Fixer-Uppers.
