Sweet support: community gives back to NHS workers with chocolate
Jessica (left) and Tamiyah (right). Pic: Jessica Edwards
Tamiyah Barbour, nine, and her mother Jessica Edwards, 31, were watching their third or fourth news report from a Covid ward when they felt the urge to do something. “We knew it was heartbreaking, we knew it was exhausting, but when you see the NHS nurses talk about how it’s actually impacting their lives, that was it for me,” says Edwards.
They started their NHS chocolate campaign in mid-January with their local hospital, St George’s in Tooting. “Me and my daughter were going to donate 50 chocolate bars with individual uplifting messages so it would feel personal to whoever received them.” Edwards’ chocolate business, TrufflezNTreatz, provided the opportunity to facilitate this gesture. “They were just like little kids. A picture can give you an idea but actually being there and seeing them happy is priceless”, she says. After witnessing the
Londis on Church Road and Asda Mitcham donated chocolate bars to support the campaign. To date, the duo has distributed over 250 chocolate bars with numbers continuing to grow each day. Jessica Edwards said: In December 2019, I was rushed into hospital heavily pregnant where we discovered I had a hereditary heart condition which killed my dad and almost killed my brother- the NHS were a big part of supporting me through this and still are. We saw the BBC news special behind the scenes at the covid ward and it was such a sad and emotional thing to see. The chocolate idea was to give a gift of energy in such an exhausting time but also to remind them that the community is behind them and how thankful we are.