A DAY to raise funds and bring smiles to a town has been hailed a success by local businesses.

The first Stand Out for Stanley Day was held on Friday, April 30, with local businesses, charities, schools and police dressing up and having fun to raise money for the Stanley Community Fund.

Stanley Learning Partnership, PACT House, North Durham Academy, Durham Police, Main Brothers, and The Original Factory Shop, along with many more all rallied to take part in the day of celebration.

Alison Burgess, manager of the Original Factory Shop Stanley, said: “The Stand Out for Stanley Day put a lot of smiles on faces and I hope it gets bigger and better each year.

“We’ve always been a company that tries to be at the heart of the community and lots of people like to pop in for a chat.

“To get involved in something like this is a small ask that makes a big difference.

"It’s nice to fundraise for our area and projects our community benefits from.”

Lois Ratcliffe, sales assistant at hardware store Main Brothers on the Front Street, said: “I just thought the day was a really good idea to get everyone in Stanley having fun and raising money for the fund.

“At Main Brothers our customers love that we are always up for a laugh so dressing up and doing a little collection was just part of the fun.

“There are some really good projects in Stanley that help people who are isolated or vulnerable and it’s a great idea to have a fund that helps these causes.”

All funds raised will go to the Stanley Community Fund, which has made £190,000 in local grants to date for projects in and around Stanley.

In a bold, place-based giving initiative, County Durham Community Foundation, Stanley Town Council, Stanley AAP, Kevan Jones MP, and Durham Constabulary with additional support from and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, created the fund two years ago.