Richmond Care Home has found new ways for its residents to have fun while still keeping in touch with loved ones during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Shirebrook home asked its Facebook followers if they would write to its residents — and the post reached 10,000 people.

Kate Birch, care home manager, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the number of cards, letters and drawings we’ve received — many from nurseries and young children.

“We’ve read every single one and they’ve really helped with morale. Thank you to everyone who wrote in.

“Please feel free to write to us if you haven’t yet. We can’t promise to reply to everyone, but we’ll do our best.”

The home said it had been overwhelmed by people’s kindness and generosity during this challenging time.

Kate added: “From the Welcome Fish Bar kindly donating sacks of potatoes to us when they had to close, to people dropping off bedding plants, chocolates and flowers — not to mention the continuous support from our local shop — our community has really pulled together and we’re very grateful.”

On April Fool’s Day, the home had a bit of fun by playing a cheeky trick on its residents.

Kate explained: “We offered everyone a chocolate, only for them to unwrap it and discover it was really a grape!

“The look on our residents’ faces was priceless, with lots of shocked expressions. Thankfully they saw the funny side.

“We always make a fuss of our ladies on Mother’s Day, but this year was even more special. Families dropped off cards and gifts before Mothering Sunday, then on the day we handed them out with an extra card, chocolates and bunch of flowers from everyone at our home.

“Lots of our residents have enjoyed video calls with their loved ones over the past month. It’s a new experience for most of our residents and it’s really put a smile on their faces.

“We have set up a separate Facebook page, called Richmond Portal, for families to video call their loved ones via Messenger on that page.

“If you’d like us to set up a video call with your loved one, please call us to arrange a convenient time. We really recommend it as a way of keeping in touch.

“We knew it might be an unsettling time for our residents when social distancing measures were introduced, so we decided to throw a garden party to raise everyone’s spirits.

“Local singer and entertainer, Anne Fotheringham, sang to us from the top of our garden (at a safe distance) while our residents joined in and danced along. It was a special afternoon for everyone.”