York jeweller gifts 200 silver bracelets to NHS staff this Christmas

Kay Bradley, of family-run firm Bradley’s Jewellers, is gifting special silver bracelets to staff within the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in gratitude for their continuing efforts during the pandemic.

Kay said she felt ‘incredibly grateful’ to NHS employees and volunteers who had worked tirelessly in the battle against Covid and led the vaccination programme that helped enable restrictions to lift.

“I truly believe that without their hard work and dedication we would not have been able to actually reopen stores and businesses,” said Kay, whose business is based in Low Petergate, near York Minster.

“We owe them not only our heartfelt gratitude, but our livelihoods.

“Many of our customers work for the NHS and over the past 18 months they have been over-worked, stretched to their limits and exhausted. It’s so important to me that they know how thankful I am for their continued efforts.”

More than 1,170 workers from across the trust’s sites in York, Scarborough, Malton, Easingwold, Selby and Bridlington, put their name down for the chance to receive one of the bracelets, with a draw to select 200 lucky recipients held on Monday.

Rachel Brook, charity operations manager for the York & Scarborough Hospitals Charity, said the generous donation had been a ‘great morale boost'.

She said: “It really has created excitement and a fantastic buzz among staff, which is just what everyone needs at a time like this. We are incredibly grateful for a donation as special and personal as this one.”

The silver and rose gold bracelet, designed by Welsh jewellery brand Clogau Gold, features two hearts and a delicate rainbow charm as “a symbol of hope in the face of adversity".

Kay said: “I feel incredibly grateful to have overcome this year in one piece, and to know that my family and my team are safe and healthy. It is important to give something back by way of a thank you.

“Many NHS staff will be helping others in the community throughout Christmas, so a little extra-special surprise, as a token of our thanks during a tough period at work, is the least I can do to express how appreciative we all feel.

“As we all move forward with Covid a presence in our lives, it has given me a great sense of purpose to create pieces that have real meaning and symbolism behind them.

“These bracelets and badges, together with our wider Rainbow Collection, acknowledge the many selfless acts of kindness shown during this pandemic and, on a deeply personal level, reflect my gratitude to those who have helped grant us a future.”

Bradley’s Jewellers is also creating a delicate Rainbow Hope Badge in collaboration with Deakin & Francis, a leading British manufacturer commissioned to create the Queen’s Covid Cross.

It expects to launch the badges in mid-February, with all profits from online and in-store sales to be donated to the trust and the Askham Bar NHS Vaccination Centre.