Brunettes Overcome Blondes 26-22; Charity Powderpuff Game Raises $120,000+ For Alzheimer’s Fight!

NORTHWEST -- It is said that blondes have more fun, but for the next year at least, the District’s brunettes will have all of the bragging rights, with the “dark side” besting their fairer hair-colored counterparts 26-22, during the seventh annual Blondes vs. Brunettes D.C. powderpuff football game on Saturday afternoon.

What looked like a surefire victory for Team Blonde at halftime (they were up by 9 points), quickly changed course, with the brunettes’ offense closing the point spread as the clock winded down and Maria Burton managing to execute a game changing interception that eventually led to her team’s triumph.

Of course, the real winner of this weekend’s game was the National Capital Area Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, which took home more than $120,000 thanks to both teams’ hard work and fundraising efforts over the past few months.

Certainly, big corporate sponsors, such as Coca-Cola, Underarmour, and Anheuser-Busch (who helped sponsor the after parties), played a large role in securing such a princely sum.

But so too did the BvB organization’s smaller fundraising efforts, which included everything from charity happy hours to calendar sales. The girls’ creativity and perseverance in fundraising meant that this year’s haul represented a more than 20% increase over their efforts in 2010.

Keri Ann Meslar, the 2011 Chairman for the organization, was Team Blonde’s top earner, with $12,900 raised. And Team Brunette’s Lilly Harris, who actually had to miss Saturday’s game because she gave birth to her first child the day prior, also managed to raise an equally impressive $8,100 amount.

All told, the founding D.C. chapter of BvB has raised approximately $500,000 to date for the fight against Alzheimer’s, with an addition $1.5 million raised by sister BvB organizations, from around the country.

Blondes versus brunettes is a clever hook, but blondes and brunettes, working together, is clearly what delivers results!