A UNIQUE event which showcases community creativity, a vibrant charity retail sector and support for Pride In Sunderland is set to take place this week (14 June).
Proudly Preloved will host a day of celebration at Blandford Street, home to a number of Sunderland’s charity stores.
And as part of a full day of fun, shops in the street will be hosting Pride-inspired window displays created by groups from around the city, using clothes from the host store.
British Heart Foundation, Age UK, Salvation Army, FACT and The Children’s Society will all be displaying outfits that have been designed by organisations including The Foundation of Light, Back on the Map, University of Sunderland, Oxclose Community College and More Than Grandparents.
Away from Blandford Street, both St Oswald’s Hospice and St Benedict’s Hospice shops will also be displaying a Pride window.
Other charities will be manning a range of pop-up stands, including Out North East – which organises Pride in Sunderland – St Benedict’s Hospice and Cancer Research UK.
Between 10am and 3pm visitors can enjoy live entertainment from the city’s Young Musicians Project as well as a street magician.
Food outlets at Blandford Street will be offering a range of free samples, along with some special deals for the day.
The event has been organised by Sunderland’s BIDs, following on from a workshop held with charity retail outlets earlier in the year to recognise the valuable contribution they make to the local economy and to find ways for them to become more engaged.
All of the charities agreed that they wanted to be involved in this year’s Pride In Sunderland, which led to the creation of the Proudly Preloved event.
Sharon Appleby, Chief Executive of Sunderland’s Business Improvement Districts – which includes both the City Centre BID and the Seafront BID – said the support for the event had been fantastic.
“We have such a vibrant charity retail sector in Sunderland and it everyone has been working together for Proudly Preloved, the culmination of months of work,” she said.
“It should be brilliant day and we hope as many people as possible will come along, see all of the creations and find out more about a range of charities and how they can support them.”
Peter Darrant of Out North East added that the day would bring a new aspect to the month-long Pride In Sunderland.
“Proudly Preloved is all about community working together and is a really welcome addition to the full programme we have going on across the city during June,” he said.
“We are looking forward to seeing the designs and are very grateful to the retail charity sector for getting behind the event.”
The full programme for Pride In Sunderland can be found at www.outnortheast.org.uk