About North Shields Fishermen’s Heritage Project
North Shields Fishermen’s Heritage Project (“NSFHP”) are a Registered Charity established in 2015. The charity was established with the aim to raise funds to commission a statue to remember the men who fished from North Shields and those who lost their lives. Known as ‘The Fisherman’, he now sits proudly looking out to sea from the site known as Fiddlers Green on the banks of the Tyne at North Shields. Following the huge success of this project, the NSFHP continued to fundraise to commission a handmade book of remembrance to record the names of the men who fished from North Shields. The book is now on permanent display in North Shields Central Library.
Alongside these projects they have also developed a program taking local school children to Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre to teach them about the fishing industry and how it relates to their own local heritage.
Their latest project, ‘The Herring Girl’, is now complete and has now been installed on the Western Quay in North Shields.
VODA Support Spanning Many Years
NSFHP’s Chair, Terrence McDermott, said of working with VODA: “I could go on forever, so please accept a big thank you”. Indeed, VODA has provided a wide array of support to NSFHP from its inception in 2015 to the present day ranging from:
- Establishing the organisation as a Charitable Incorporated organisation, registered with the Charity Commission;
- Funding support to commission The Fisherman;
- Help completing an Organisational Health Check to identify areas for growth and improvement;
- Assisting the organisation with their governance ahead of a Community Lettings Audit, in which the NSFHP were awarded a very favourable result. Of the result, Terence said ‘to say I am happy is an understatement’;
- Providing Trustee Training so all existing Trustees are aware of their roles and responsibilities; and
- Producing the organisation’s Accounts through VODA’s Community Accountancy team.
VODA’s support has been holistic, and Terrence thanked the organisation for: “your guidance support and time- NSFHP has come a long way since we started back in 2015”.
For anyone considering contacting VODA for support getting started, Terrence said:
“If you are setting up a small charity / group, do it right from the start- get advice and follow it from VODA.”
For more information on NSFHP, please see their website.
If you would like to benefit from support, advice and training for your VCSE group from VODA, please contact VODA’s Core Services Team by telephone on 0191 643 2626 or by email on development@voda.org.uk.
