About us

We love our community and we’re here to see it flourish

Assisting the people of Shellharbour City since 1992. A church ministry that originally started with providing space to meet with people over coffee and build deeper relationships with friends in our neighbourhood. Once we started doing life with our neighbours we realised Assist could help meet other needs in the community and be there for people in the fluidity of life. Friends started seeing changes in addictions, feeling hope return and overall felt they were being seen rather than being just another number. Assist Shellharbour then became a Not for Profit organisation registered with the ACNC; with the desire to see all people live a full life financially, physically, socially and spiritually.

Assist is a support based organisation that helps provide food assistance, connection through conversation, equipping through employability and life skills, supporting people meet their commitments and we’re a safe place of advocacy for people.

In 1998 Assist expanded its doors wider and started a preloved clothes and goods store called ‘Born Again Boutique’. It was started with the idea of providing a place where people in the community who were struggling, could have access to clean, pre-loved clothing to help stretch out their budgets. It has been a great meeting place with many people coming to have a cuppa and a chat around the table. Over the years our values have remained the same and most items can be purchased between $1 and $2. We have a great range of clothing to suit all family members. The Born Again Boutique is a popular shop and has a great reputation in the community.

Born Again Boutique is located at the Baptist Care Community Centre at 2 Hill Street, Warilla North. It is open 9am-3pm Monday through Friday.

Serving meals since October 2009, now meeting on Monday evenings from 4:30pm at 10A Commerce Dr, Lake Illawarra. Our doors are open and the table is set for ALL, any individual, family and couple is welcome. Please feel free to come, have a home cooked meal, meet others and even play a board game if that’s something you enjoy.

All four seasons we enjoy a main meal and dessert. We try to cook something that might remind you of home, but we’re always open to suggestions especially if you’ve been missing a certain meal.

NEW!

Launching August 2024, Coffee Assist is a Mobile Coffee Cart available for hire for events. The idea was originally birthed from our community training courses. Coffee Assist will provide students with coaching and mentoring while receiving real hands-on work experience in the community to gain further training. It will foster and help students grow their employability skills, such as face-to-face customer service, working in a team, gaining confidence in taking orders, using POS systems, handling money, and cleaning, while providing them with real hours of work experience in a safe environment. We’ve found that many of those who’ve gained work through our training have increased their well-being and standard of living, while providing them with a purpose. Hence the slogan ‘brewing for change’. Every shift may have a different barista, so feel free to greet them and we thank you for investing in their future.

Consider hiring us for your next event, and we hope to see you at local community, council, school, and market events soon.

Thank you to our supporting partners.

We are so thankful for our partnerships. We wouldn’t be able to accomplish all that we do for our community without the help of other amazing initiatives.

  • We thank the families and staff at Warilla Baptist Pre-school for their quarterly donations drives, the impact of your care and love for others through your gifts is a blessing beyond words.
  • Orange Sky Laundry comes to 10A Commerce Drive, Lake Illawarra; Once a week to help positively connect people experiencing hardship and homelessness through their free laundry service and connection with such cheerful volunteers- Thank you team Daisy!
  • We acknowledge Baptist Care Warilla North, for the years of ongoing support, friendship and encouragement. We appreciate the partnership and space we are able to rent at 2 Hill Street, Warilla for our community Op Shop.
  • We also thank the generosity of Food Care Shellharbour who provide us with fruit and vegetables which helps us cook meals for our community dinner Open Hands.
  • We thank Shellharbour Rotary Club for their support through their fundraising in 2023 and 2024 to help us provide light lunches on Mondays and Fridays at our drop in centre at 10a Commerce Drive location.
  • We’d like to thank Kiama and Shoalhaven Community College for their partnership, support and Registered training for both our job seeking individuals and life learners in the community desiring to grow, learn and connect. You have and continue to help our community members learn new skills, gain opportunities and be empowered! We are extremely privileged to be partnering with you.
  • We also thank Shellharbour Club for their support of Open Hands through ClubGrants; your ongoing support means we can provide a two-course meal to 45 individuals and their families every week.
  • Through our partnership with Share the dignity, we are able to provide feminine hygiene products to those menstruating and/or have incontinence problems. It makes an incredible difference, and we are beyond grateful for the gifts and donations given across Australia through Share the dignity drives, which allows us to provide these products, free of charge.
  • Thank you to the Mayor and team at Shellharbour City Council for recognising and championing the work of Assist Shellharbour and the ministry of Open Hands. The contribution of the council allows us to continually seek for new opportunities that will create lasting impact for the people of Shellharbour.

10A Commerce Drive, Lake Illawarra NSW 2528

assistshellharbour@gmail.com
0413 143 667 and (02) 4297 3667

Assist Shellharbour, Coffee Assist and Born Again Boutique is a registered not-for-profit organisation affiliated with Shellharbour City Baptist Church. Open Hands Community Dinner is a ministry of Shellharbour City Baptist Church.

ABN 24 492 967 968

We acknowledge and respect the Traditional custodians of this land: the Dharawal nation, on which we work and live. We pay respects to the Wadi Wadi Elder’s past, present and emerging. We celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders of all communities who also work and live on this land.