Caterplus, the specialist care catering arm of contract caterer Elior UK, teamed up with education caterers Taylor Shaw and Edwards & Blake to connect local schools and retirement living communities.
Links were created between seven schools and retirement communities, which were geographically close to each other to celebrate the Coronation in May. Postcards were exchanged with the residents sharing their memories of the previous Coronation or other Royal events over the years.
Children in schools, where Taylor Shaw or Edwards & Blake provide the catering, created bookmarks, placemats and bunting to celebrate the Coronation which were then shared with residents living in retirement communities where Caterplus provides food services.
Laura Tighe, managing director of Caterplus, said: “The benefits of intergenerational collaboration are many and as we are part of a larger business which operates in many sectors, this made it much easier to create these links and make them happen.
“The feedback has been wonderful both from the children and the residents and it is exciting that this is just the start of some great connections which we plan to expand and nurture over the coming year and beyond.”
Plans are now underway for further activities in September to share experiences of returning to school and memories from the summer holidays, to sing carols, decorate cakes at Christmas and to celebrate World Book Day.
Ann, a resident present at the visit, commented: “It was a wonderful tonic and has done the power of good for me and many of my fellow residents and we look forward to future visits.”
Due to the initial success of the trial, there are now plans to identify more schools and retirement living communities that can be connected for future activities that are planned for the rest of the year.