SMILE – you’re in with a chance of snapping up some fantastic prizes in an exciting new photography competition launched today.

The Winning Smile competition is part of the year-long celebrations marking the 160th anniversary of Darlington Building Society (DBS).

When Darlington’s local building society rebranded at the start of its landmark year, a smile was incorporated into its new logo, so the photo competition seemed the perfect way to join forces with The Northern Echo and capture the theme of smiling.

There’s no shortage of reasons to feel happy about living in and around Darlington, so we’re looking for your pictures, capturing the joy to be found in our area.

The Northern Echo:
CELEBRATION: There are smiles all round as schools celebrate Chinese New Year in Darlington Town centre. Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT

The competition will be split into adult and junior categories, with monthly prizes awarded by judges nominated by Darlington Building Society. For the grown-ups, there will be £50 of Marks and Spencer vouchers up for grabs each month, with £25 of iTunes vouchers for entrants who are 17 and under.

The competition runs until October 31 and a gallery of photogenic smiles will build up on The Northern Echo’s website over the coming months.

An overall winner will be chosen in a vote by Echo readers in November, with a star prize of a fantastic digital SLR camera.

Caroline Darnbroook, general manager (marketing) at the building society, said: “Our 160th anniversary is a real reason to celebrate, and what do you do when you celebrate – you smile.

“The aim is to create a feel-good factor in and around Darlington. We want to encourage people to have fun and be involved in a creative way – so we’d love to see all varieties of photos!”

The Northern Echo:
LET’S BE HAPPY: A pupil from St George’s CE Primary Academy takes part in the Mayor of Darlington’s Schools Eurovision Contest. Picture: CHRIS BOOTH

The building society is one of the local companies committed to marketing Darlington as “an ingenious town” and is the principal sponsor of the Festival of Ingenuity on July 8 and 9. The judges are particularly looking for imaginative photographs to tie in with the theme of ingenuity.

DBS is also principal sponsor of The Vibe Awards, highlighting the achievements of young people, which will be presented at the Dolphin Centre on June 21.

In addition, the society is making good progress with three pledges it made at the beginning of its 160th anniversary year: to donate 160 hours of staff volunteering; to raise £160,000 for local good causes; and to support 160 organisations using company resources, including building space, staff time and skills.

Mrs Darnbrook said: “There is real momentum building behind the pledges and we are well on course to make a real difference to the community in our special year.”

The society holds its annual general meeting at Darlington College today and there will be an atmosphere of celebration, with music from a swing band supplied by Durham Music Service, along with afternoon tea.

  • Anyone who wishes to apply for support via one of the Darlington Building Society pledges should email social@darlington.co.uk