Powderpuff
Tackling Cancer
Raising awareness through annual powderpuff game
Junior and senior girls battled it out on the football field for the annual powderpuff game on Oct. 23, 2016. The event was organized by cabinet, and all of the proceeds were donated to the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks. Combined with money from the previous “Pink Out” football game, a total of $1,243 was raised during October, which was breast cancer awareness month.
The powderpuff game served as an opportunity for students to have fun while promoting a good cause. Senior Josie Stephens was appreciative of the unique fundraising aspect that the event incorporated for the first time.
“This whole entire fundraiser meant a lot to me because my mom is a breast cancer survivor,” Stephens said. “I liked how we focused in on a service project along with powderpuff because it brought awareness to a lot of people.”
Fundraising was just one aspect of the game; the playful rivalry between juniors and seniors brought a competitive and lively atmosphere to the night. But once again, the seniors were the powderpuff champions, winning 35-28.
“My favorite part was definitely winning; the score was a lot closer than we thought it would be,” Stephens said. “It was also really fun because in year’s past, seniors are supposed to win, but this year we actually had to work to win-- it wasn’t just given to us. That’s why it was really fun to actually have a victory under our belt and be like, ‘Hey, we actually did win and everybody knows that.’”
Girls were able to showcase their talents and abilities not found in other sports through their involvement in powderpuff. This was was something unique to it, and was an attraction to junior Makaela Ingemi.
“Me and my friend heard about it [powderpuff] freshman year,” Ingemi said. “We were really excited because it seemed like it’d be something really fun. Usually boys are the only ones that can play football, but this was an opportunity for girls to get out there and have fun with it.”
Powderpuff was effective in serving as both a service project and a fun event to be involved in this year, providing awareness for breast cancer and offering opportunities for girls to play a sport they wouldn’t usually do.
Published in the
2017 Yearbook
This story was written about powderpuff football, which was a fundraiser to raise money for the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks. It was a really memorable event and was a lot of fun for the players. There was a lot of effort that went into the planning of the game, so I tried to show this in the story. The yearbook benefited from this story because it was a glimpse into the year through the fundraiser. I learned more about writing stories tailored to a certain theme, not like sports stories.
