Restoration Coffee — a coffee van with a charitable, community-centred vision

FOR a long time Bellarine local Sharon De Been dreamed of finding a way to connect community, coffee and charity.

Now, that dream is a reality in her family-run Restoration Coffee Van.

At the Restoration Coffee Van, 25 cents of every coffee purchased is donated to MAF Australia, a non-profit organisation that assists women and children in Arnhem Land in Northern Australia to escape from domestic violence.

The business also supports two local charities providing regular free coffees at the Drysdale Family Support’s Foodbank and supporting the Geelong Mums with regular financial donations and free coffee for special events.

Sharon said this business and philanthropic venture was personally significant to her, having herself been able to leave domestic violence because of the support she received from community and various charities.

“I was in domestic violence for over 20 years, some friends from a local church helped me and I got out, and now I’ve been out of it for 15 years,” she said.

“When I left domestic violence the Drysdale family support and counselling centre helped me and they helped my daughter and son.

“My son is now in the navy and my daughter graduated Year 12 and is working with my husband and I in the van now.

“We were lucky, but it’s taken a lot of years to heal.”

To Sharon, this van is a place she hopes will create the community support, as well as the practical support, needed to help those in situations like those she experienced.

“If you’re in domestic violence you need the support from community to leave. You need the support to get through something like that.

“Coffee – Connection – Community is not just a catchy tagline, it’s at the heart of our reason for being, assisting others where we can is very important to us, as is building a place where people can meet to relax, connect and have friendly conversations while enjoying a delicious cup of coffee.”

Sharon said her biggest inspiration for the van was her mother, who despite having seven children of her own never failed to take in those in need.

“I learnt how to do this because of my mother, we were brought up as a family to also always give, so I wanted to make something that would give back to the community,” Sharon said.

“I’ve had this dream for quite a while, but the business itself is very new, we’ve only recently got the van up and running and we have been out eight times now.

“I’m really big on community and I love bringing people together and giving hope to those who need it.”

 

The Restoration Coffee Van sources all coffee, cookies, snacks and other beverages from local suppliers across Geelong and the Bellarine.

At the moment, the Restoration Coffee Van operates Saturdays and Mondays
as below:

Saturday 8am-2pm – Mowers Galore Carpark, 92 Murradoc Rd, Drysdale
Saturday 2pm-5pm– Second Chance Op Shop, 40 Geelong Rd, Portarlington
Monday 8am-1pm – Second Chance Op Shop, 40 Geelong Rd, Portarlington

For those wanting to support Restoration Coffee Van with a location to run an event, there is no surcharge or fee is required.

The Restoration Coffee Van is self-contained and needs no water or electricity from venue operators.

“A steady stream of coffee lovers willing to try our product and support our dedicated local enterprise is reward enough,” Sharon said.

Those interested in having Restoration Coffee at an event or business can email enquiries to [email protected] or phone Sharon de Been on 0400 221 118.