The fundraiser that serves as the primary revenue source for the Heart of Virginia Free Clinic is set for April 30, and the community is invited to take part in raising money for its clients.

The clinic’s second annual fundraising gala will be held at the Firemen’s Sports Arena in Farmville from 7 p.m.-midnight, and will feature the sounds of The Janitors and food from The Fishin’ Pig.

Though the event is themed “moonlight and miracles,” the fundraiser has a dual purpose — fun for the community and raising awareness of a need to keep the most vulnerable in the Heart of Virginia healthy.

The clinic, which offers free medical services to hundreds of people across Farmville, Prince Edward, Buckingham, Charlotte, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Amelia, is completely funded by donations — the reason volunteers rely so heavily on the gala.

“We get no federal or state funding,” said Kim Butler, a member of the clinic’s board of directors. Butler, a registered nurse, served on the original board that established the clinic.

“This is our main (source of) revenue,” said Pat Payne, the clinic’s executive director who’s also a registered nurse. “This is the largest contributor to our income … It’s very important that we raise a substantial amount of money.”

Tickets this year are $100 per couple and $65 per person. Three hundred and fifty tickets will be sold, Butler said.

Last year, the event raised about $15,000. “Of course, we would like to get above that. Last year we sold 250 tickets at the same pricing that’s there,” said Butler.

“I think what the community needs to know is a little about what we do,” Butler said. “We’ve been in existence for over five years now, and I don’t think people really understand what our mission is. All the money that we raise goes directly back into taking care of patients in our (area) who don’t have insurance. These are working individuals who have kind of fallen through the cracks. These are people who don’t qualify for Medicaid, they don’t qualify for disability, they don’t have Medicare, they don’t qualify for Obamacare. They just don’t qualify for anything.”

“Most of our patients couldn’t buy Obamacare,” Payne said. “They can’t buy it because they couldn’t get the subsidies. These people don’t have $35 in their pocket. And, so, they don’t wind up going to the doctor for their maintenance care, which is what we do. And then they get sick, and they wind up right back in the hospital again.”

“All of them are volunteers,” Butler said of the nurses and doctors.

“We do follow-up care … Sometimes, we’ll see them back in a week,” Payne said.

Centra Southside Community Hospital is an enormous help to the clinic, Payne and Butler said.

Payne said that the clinic couldn’t exist without Centra. “We just simply couldn’t,” she said.

Different levels of sponsorships are available for the event. Centra Southside Community Hospital is the diamond sponsor, while WVHL radio station is a gold sponsor. The Fishin’ Pig is offering in-kind donations, while Margaret Taylor-Collins’ Awesome Party Supplies is also donating.

“There are sponsorships available … for businesses if they so choose,” Butler said.

Ticket prices include heavy hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine. Ticketholders can bring their own beverages, Butler said. Coolers are not allowed at the event.

To purchase tickets, visit hovfc.com. For more information on the event or the clinic, call (434) 607-4658.