More than £10,000 raised in campaign to salvage flood-damaged mikveh

More than £10,000 has been raised in two days after rabbis launched a crowdfunding campaign to repair a flood-damaged mikveh in Greater Manchester.

The religious bath in Cheadle, which is run by Chabad, was hit by a month’s rain in 24 hours, causing the nearby Micker Brook to burst its banks. The mikveh was completely flooded and the Chabad House was partially flooded.

Homeowners were rescued by boat, cars were stranded, roads were closed and train services cancelled as unprecedented summer rainfall hit south Manchester and Cheshire, including Cheadle, Bramhall, Stockport, Poynton and Hale.

Rabbi Peretz and Rebbetzin Chavi Chein have run Chabad in Cheadle for more than 20 years and this week they said the state-of-the-art mikveh had “become a central point in the local community, with many other rabbis and rebbetzins from across the spectrum using, promoting and hosting events with it”.

The damage has meant that the family has had to move out of Chabad House temporarily and the couple were described as “devastated” that the mikveh was flooded, but “determined to get it back up and running as soon as possible”.

A fundraising target of £180,000 was set and the couple are raising money through the GoFundMe website, posting pictures of the damage. Among the major donors so far is local lawyer Nick Freeman, known as ‘Mr Loophole,’ who is best known for helping celebrities argue against driving penalties. He gave £1,000.

The crowdfunding page can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/save-our-mikveh-and-chabad-house