As Andrea Vellinga recovers from life-threatening injuries, friends gathered at a local restaurant to share prayers and positive thoughts at a fundraiser.

"I guarantee if you've met her once, you won’t forget her. She's just absolutely loving and happy," friend Emma Johnson said.

Vellinga is fighting for her life at Methodist Hospital and friends said they wanted to give love and happiness back to her.

"She's very heavily sedated while her brain is trying to heal," friend Amy Howard said.

Vellinga and her friends were near the front of the stage at the state fairgrounds Saturday when it collapsed.

Special Section: Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse

"I heard about it as soon as it happened. I immediately texted (Vellinga) in probably five or 10 minutes and I didn't hear anything back," Johnson said.

A steel beam fell on Vellinga’s head, crushing her skull, 6News' Ericka Flye reported.

“I noticed her brother’s Facebook page asking for some serious prayers for his sister," Johnson said.

Vellinga’s friends and family organized a benefit to help with her medical expenses along her road to recovery.

"We have a couple of bins out for donations. We're making these little ribbon pins to hand out to people," friend Hillary Hughes said.

The ribbons were tied to just about everything in Pendleton, and Vellinga’s friends said their color, fuchsia, was significant.

"Fuchsia is Andrea’s favorite color. Her mom thought it would be a great idea in support of her,” Hughes said.

Donations for Andrea Vellinga can be made at First Merchants Bank or Ovid Community Church in Anderson.