Good News Mountaineer Garage, the nonprofit that matches West Virginians in need with donated cars and trucks, does more than just provide a set of wheels. It’s a vehicle for a whole new way of life, Executive Director Barbara Bayes said.

“What we do is offer someone struggling a short-term contribution that allows them to achieve long-term gains,” said Bayes, who heads the statewide program founded a decade ago in Charleston.

She said hundreds of people have been helped by the program, which works this way: Individuals and businesses donate vehicles that are working or can be repaired without a big investment, Good News mechanics get them road-ready, and the cars then are matched to needy families identified by the state Department of Health and Human Resources.

Once dependable transportation is secured, the recipients can get back and forth to training programs or jobs and also can take their young children to daycare, Bayes said.

“Getting a car into the hands of someone who needs one is an investment, just the same as providing them with job skills training,” she said.

Bayes said a member of Good News’ board of directors once described the effort as a “one-job-at-a-time” approach to economic development.

Such help is particularly crucial in a rural state like West Virginia, Bayes said.

“Sometimes I’ll hear people ask why someone without a car doesn’t just move into a city or town and live where public transportation is available, but there are problems with that solution,” she said.

“You’ll pay more to live on the bus line, and once you’ve moved away from your family, what happens when your child is sick and you don’t have anyone to watch her while you work? You can’t work, and you end up losing your job.”

Bayes’ organization also provides recipients with low-cost oil changes and other vehicle maintenance, as well as repairs to ensure that the vehicles can stay on the road as long as possible. Recipients also can get help paying for the required car insurance for the first six months, she said.

“We want our recipients to be able to work for a couple of years without worrying about a car payment or having to spend a lot of money on a car,’’ Bayes said.

West Virginia is ahead of much of the country in offering such a program to those in need, Bayes said.

“We’ve found a way to get people off welfare and to become taxpayers,” she said.

“When people ask me if this program works, I tell them about the woman who needed a car for job training. She ended up becoming a dental hygienist and three years after we gave her a car, she donated one back to us. That’s the kind of program this is.”