Auto Works of Brandon Marks 10 Years With Women’s Resource Center Benefit

Ten years in the competitive world of auto repair amid a flat-tire economy is no mean feat and Mike Rubio, owner of Auto Works of Brandon, wanted to celebrate.

Rubio marked his fifth anniversary with a fundraiser for charity but while he can rebuild a transmission with his eyes closed, Rubio wanted nothing to do with another fundraiser.

“I put the fifth anniversary fundraiser together myself and it was very, very hard,” Rubio said. “It’s not something I wanted to do again.”

So, Rubio decided to ask an expert and turned to his friend, Sheila Del Castillo, a board member for the Greater Brandon Community Founation.

The Brandon Foundation, as the group is also known, runs some of the biggest fundraisers in the area every year in support of area charities.

“She knows how to do this and she’s connected to the people who do it all the time, that’s why I turned to Sheila," Rubio said. "I was alone before but now I have a team helping me.”

Autoworks plans a “Pick Your Price” oil change July 30, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., to raise money for the Women's Resource Center in Brandon, at 1017 North Kingsway Road. The fundraiser will also include a car wash, food, raffles, massage table and business booths.

Del Castillo said organizing the event was just a matter of delegating some responsibilities.

“We put a committee of eight people together and everyone volunteered to do a different part of the job," she said. "We also put out fliers and sent out word on Facebook so we are expecting a good turnout. It’s been an awesome effort."

A board member at the Women's Resource Center, Del Castillo also suggested the Women's Resource Center as the fundraiser's beneficiary.

“The center recently lost some government grants so this will help make up for that,” she said.

Founded in 2003 by a group of local women who had overcome their own personal struggles, the Women’s Resource Center is a faith-based, non-profit group dedicated to providing services that encourage, support and assist individuals and families to meet their basic needs.

In 2010, the center helped more than 7,000 people in the Greater Brandon area, giving emergency food to 1,800 families, assisting 820 families complete the paperwork for Medicaid and Food Stamps and aiding an additional 480 families with clothes.

“This is just a complete blessing and the way Mike Rubio has approached it with a number business coming together is going to provide tremendous impact for organization,” said Cheryl English, the center's executive director. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. They have turned it into an outstanding event with prizes like jewelry, cruises and new cabinets. It’s just going to be a big party.”

The fundraiser is a chance to give back to those who have kept his family business in the black for a decade, Rubio said.

“For 10 years we have been building trust with customers, that’s what it comes down to," he said. "I wanted to give back to the community that has given us that trust and given so much to us.”

Autoworks of Brandon, 119 Central Drive, is off Brandon Boulevard, just west of Kings Avenue. For information, call 813-657-4399.