AUSTIN, Texas -- Gateway Church celebrated 20 years in Austin with a fundraiser for a local clinic.

The church donated the proceeds of their 20 Year Celebration to the Hope Medical Clinic, an organization addressing the health needs of refugees and low income patients.

Gateway is a part of a group of churches that has helped fund the clinic since it opened in 2012.

Hope Medical Center Executive Director Gloria McPherson was a member of Gateway when she and a group of doctors opened the clinic. She said there move to open the clinic was just the kind of work she saw herself doing as a member of the church.

“We saw a need and decided that need needed to be filled. That need was providing health care to the underserved, the uninsured or under-insured.”

Hope Medical Center will use the proceeds from the event to hire a new paid staff person for the clinic. Most employees of Hope are volunteers. McPherson said it’s been tough sustaining the clinic with the volunteer model and paid staff would guarantee service for her patients.

“We do the best we can, we provide good quality care. We want to provide more for our patients,” said McPherson.

McPherson said the search for a new paid staffer will begin as soon as the clinic secures the money to pay them. She said the event will pay for most of it, but Hope is still looking for donations from other sources.