Twenty jobs at a domestic abuse charity and several of its services have been saved after it raised £450,000 through fundraising and the extension of a council contract. 

MyCWA, formerly known as Cheshire Without Abuse, said 20 jobs were at risk as its contract with Cheshire East Council, which was worth £388,000 in 2023/24, was set to end in March.

The charity’s Crewe support centre and services, Macclesfield store and community hub were also at risk.

The organisation launched a £500,000 emergency fundraising appeal in January aimed at saving its services.

It said yesterday the appeal had raised more than £300,000 and the council had agreed a 12-month extension to its contract worth about £150,000 to the charity.

The charity thanked its supporters and said the emergency appeal launched had looked like an “impossible mountain” to overcome.

“We’re grateful to each and every one of you – individual donors, community fundraisers, local businesses, trusts and foundations – who answered our call for help,” the charity said.

“You who organised fundraisers, shaved your head, ran raffles, ran races, gave up birthday presents in place of donations, or donated whatever you could afford.

“Whether you gave money, time or energy – your extraordinary generosity raised over £300,000 to save our vital services.”

Laura Crane, councillor and chair of Cheshire East Council’s children and families committee, said supporting domestic abuse victims remained a priority for the council.

“To ensure continuity of support for victims of domestic abuse, we are extending our contract with MyCWA, ensuring adequate refuge provision for the coming year,” she said.

“During this period, we will continue to redesign our domestic abuse services to guarantee integrated support for children, young people, victims, and perpetrators of domestic abuse.

“As someone who has personally used these services, I am committed to actively promoting access to our support services and highlighting the essential and impactful work our domestic abuse team does.”

Saskia Lightburn-Ritchie, chief executive of MyCWA, said: “We welcome this extension of refuge accommodation funding, which will allow us to continue supporting vulnerable families and individuals to escape and heal from abuse.”