About the North East Ladies Day
It’s thanks to the hard-work and effort of 12 Darlington based ladies that North East Ladies Luncheon (NELL) was established, with the first luncheon being held at the Dolphin Centre, Darlington in 1983.
Jean Stuart, our President and a founder member of NELL, was instrumental in creating an annual event with the two primary objectives; for Ladies to come together and meet in friendship, and to raise funds for local and well deserving charities.
As you would expect, the event has grown over the last 35+ years. In recognition of this we changed our name to North East Ladies Day. The change in name signified the success of the event evolving from a small luncheon to more of a full ‘day out’ attended by a large number of ladies, all coming together in the name of supporting local North East charities.
NELD has raised over £325,000 since the first event in 1983, a great achievement and all thanks to those of you who purchase tickets and continue to make the day a great success. In October 2019, NELD registered as its own charity organisation (charity no. 1185673) to enable more efficient ways to raise funds, such as Gift Aid.
The current NELD Trustees run the NELD Committee. Collectively, they maintain the original objective of organising an enjoyable event where women come together in friendship and raise funds for local charities.
The current NELD Committee are: Jean Stuart (President), Jo Lowes (Chair), Carol Heslehurst, Christine Nolan, Claire Wilson, Hayley Bullen, Helen Woodgate, Jess Thompson, and Joanna Maine.