(Image: City of Bradford Council)
A community centre has completed an expansion to support more women and families in need.
The Keighley Association for Women and Children’s Centre (KAWACC) has extended its existing building to increase capacity and offer new services to the community.
The project was funded with £164,000 from the Government-funded Keighley Towns Fund, administered by Bradford Council, along with additional match funding and an access fund grant from the council.
Naz Kazmi, chief executive of KAWACC, said: "This expansion is about hope, dignity and opportunity.
"Every single day we stand alongside women and families facing some of the toughest challenges imaginable.
"This new space will allow us to reach further, support deeper, and change even more lives.
"This achievement would not be possible without our dedicated staff team and board of trustees, whose unwavering commitment, expertise, and passion drive everything we do.
"They are the backbone of the centre, ensuring that every woman and child who comes through our doors feels supported, safe and empowered."
The extra funding made it possible to install a new lift, which ensures the expanded centre is fully accessible to everyone.
The centre has supported four generations of some families.
It provides education, training, wellbeing services and a safe space for those in need.
The expansion extends into the centre’s former car park.
It includes two new rooms and a dedicated skills hub to broaden training opportunities.
This will help women from all of Keighley's diverse communities overcome isolation, poverty and unemployment.
Tim Rogers, chairman of the Keighley Towns Fund, said: "The ways this incredible charity supports the community are many and varied.
"We are proud to support this ambitious redevelopment and look forward to seeing the extraordinary impact it will continue to make."
Councillor Andrew Judson, Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration, economy and planning, added: "This incredible charity has delivered invaluable work across decades, and we are pleased that the Council has been able to support upgrading the facilities in this way, allowing them to reach more people."
Ms Kazmi also thanked the centre’s supporters and funders.
She said: "We are profoundly grateful that our funding has been matched to help us complete this work.
"We want to thank every funder who believed in our vision, in our values and in the women and families we serve.
"Their belief is not just an investment in a building – it is an investment in the future of Keighley."