Greene County goes pink for Danika
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By Carmen Ensinger
Submitted photo
The Dairy Queen in Carrollton not only made all its lights pink, but it spelled out Danika’s name and left it on all night.
Some call it a coincidence, some say it wasn’t. But on April 16 there was a full moon and the moon in April is called the Pink Moon. It is called the Pink Moon because it happens at the emergence of pink wildflowers in North America.
“I just hope that as we all turned on our pink lights in honor of sweet little Danika, that we took a moment to go outside and take a look at the moon,” Morgan Coffey said. “I don’t think any of us had any idea of this when we set up this fund raiser but the fact that it is the Pink Moon on her birthday – well…”
If you are unfamiliar with the story so far. April 16 would have been the first birthday of little Danika Alderfer, daughter of Greenfield Assistant Police Chief Nate Alderfer and Greenfield City Alderwoman Kari Alderfer. Danika, along with her great aunt, Nancy Hillis, perished in a tragic fire in Greenfield on March 31, just three weeks before her first birthday.
As a show of support for the family, Coffee and Morgan Vinyard decided to hold a fund raiser decided to “Light up Greene County” with pink light bulbs on what would have been Danika’s first birthday.
The money raised from the sale of the light bulbs will be used to start the Danika Alderfer Fire Prevention and Protection Program for local school age children.
The bulbs sold for $20 each and while the group initially ordered 600 bulbs with a goal of raising $20,000 for the program, which would mean selling 1,000 bulbs, by 9 a.m. the morning after the fund raiser was announced, they had to order more bulbs.
“We figured we might have to order more bulbs by mid-week, but they went so fast, we were just astounded by how fast they were going,” Coffey said. “It just goes to show how this community supports each other. Driving around all of the towns, they were all lit up pink for Danika in a show of support for the Alderfer family.”
