After 18 years in the car repair business, auto technician Dave Matchett recently opened his own shop, Eastside Auto Care, at 14515 NE 91st St., Suite 3 in Redmond.

It’s a small operation right now — just Matchett and his wife Brenda. She manages the office while he fixes and restores engines, transmissions, brakes and so on.

Being his own boss is satisfying and auto repair is a highly specialized and lucrative business, Dave admitted. But “we’re not in this just for money,” he stated.

The couple is committed to community service, especially helping children and families with disabilities or those struggling to make ends meet in this brutal economy.

Non-profits they support include Hopelink, Northwest Harvest, Habitat for Humanity, Kindering Center, MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Society and MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association).

One of the ways they’ve helped in the past is to refurbish old vehicles and donate them to charitable organizations. New state laws now limit the number of such title transfers. However, Eastside Auto Care will offer discounts on auto repairs to people who regularly volunteer their time to deliver goods or services to people in need.

In addition, Eastside Auto Care will serve as a year-’round collection site for food bank donations and will frequently offer coupon deals in return for a few cans of food.

“We’ve got Nintendo and Microsoft,” Dave pointed out, “but we still have hunger in this town. There are people who need blankets and a place to sleep. … President Obama is trying to change things on a large level but you and I can change things here in our own backyard. To be a full-time Hopelink drop center makes it easier for everyone. We can help the hungry and our customers don’t have to go out of their way to make a donation.”

Hopelink public relations specialist Denise Stephens expressed her gratitude, stating, “Once the holidays are over, the issues of hunger and need sometimes get pushed to the backs of our minds. Everyone is so busy, we tend to forget about what’s not right in front of us. We love that Eastside Auto Care is reminding people that hunger is year-’round. Considering that our Redmond food bank alone served more than 1,600 people in December, it’s easy to see that we can never have too much food on our shelves.”

On behalf of Kindering, senior development officer Joe Cunningham remarked, “Kindering is truly grateful that Dave Matchett and Eastside Auto Care have committed their support to our Eastside-based birth-to-three therapy center that helps infants and children with special needs.”

For information about Eastside Auto Care, call (425) 861-7777 or visit www.eastsideautocare.com/.