It has been an interesting year so far for Shades of Different, with lots happening in terms of moving forward: the end of March saw Shades of Different become a registered charity, officially approved by the charity commission and ready to launch ahead with plans for the future. The end of April saw Erika Petrie being nominated for the national diversity awards, as a result of all her hard work in making Shades of Different happen and her continuous awareness raising through the live blog and her regular radio interviews and podcasts.

Now finally in June, the long awaited CD album containing eleven original tracks on diversity and inclusion that Erika and her team have been working on is at long last ready to launch! So the date has been set: on Thursday evening 14th July (7 till 10 pm) there will be big launch event taking place, the first ever fundraiser for Shades of Different as an official charity! It will be held at St Leonards and St Ives Village Hall (Annexe) on Braeside Rd in St Leonards (East Dorset) and there will be a raffle with some great prizes and a bottle tombola. Please do get involved if you live locally or are able to join for the evening. The CD will be played for the first time on this occasion and there will be musical entertainment as well, including prosecco and refreshments.

If you are able to bring along a bottle for the bottle tombola that would be gratefully received and raffle tickets will be selling at £1 a strip. A big thank you goes out to two wonderful ladies from Supply Tree Recruitment: Vicki Solly and Sharon Golding who have already donated twelve bottles of prosecco to our event. Thank you so much ladies!

If you are unable to attend the event but would like a copy of our charity CD, which ultimately will also be available as a streamed version, the cost is £10, do comment in connection with this article and provide an email address to arrange payment and so I can get in touch with you to get it sent to you.

Join me in raising a glass to the future of Shades of Different!

Thank you

Erika Petrie