MOMbies describe themselves as ordinary moms dancing for an extraordinary cause.
“A MOMbie is a mom right now in Fairfield who is a little bit mischievous and loves to dance and be with friends and wants to pull it all together for a purpose,” Joy Martini, of Fairfield, said.
That purpose is to raise awareness about metastatic breast cancer.
Each year since 2016, the group of moms dress up as zombies and dance through the streets of Fairfield.
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“It just spreads so much joy and happiness. It’s fun to take that leap and be the fun parent,” Kassandra Savicki, of Fairfield, said.
The cause hits close to home for several members.
“When I started in 2016, I certainly had no idea I would be afflicted with breast cancer when I was diagnosed 18 months ago,” Martini said.
In 2022, Martini had to sit out the Halloween performance.
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“I watched them, and I just wept, I wept, I wept, I wept because I realized they are dancing for me, dancing for you, for you, any woman, any man, affected by this disease,” Martini said.
This year, Martini is getting back on the stage. She will be dancing alongside 50 other women, including Savicki who joined the group in 2019 and is a breast cancer survivor.
“I was 39 and it was pretty aggressive cancer, I was stage 2,” Savicki said. “Joining up with MOMbies is not only stretching yourself and putting yourself out there dancing and learning this choreography, but it was something that united the community.”
MOMbies have put the "fun" in fundraising. Through their performances, they have raised $170,000 for The Cancer Couch Foundation, an organization focused on finding research and treatments for metastatic breast cancer.
“Every dollar donated to The Cancer Couch is matched by an anonymous donor, so donations go even further, 100% of the proceeds are donated to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Memorial Sloan Kettering and used exclusively for research for metastatic breast cancer," Savicki said.
In the last year alone there have been five treatments that have been funded by groups like The Cancer Couch that are already FDA approved and being used in treating metastatic breast cancer,” she continued.
MOMbies will perform this Friday and Saturday. For more information, click here.
