COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The legacy of “America’s Got Talent” star Jane “Nightbirde” Marczewski is living on through the songwriter’s foundation aimed at supporting young women with breast cancer.
Just months months after the Zanesville native, 31, died of metastatic breast cancer in February, “America’s Got Talent” — where Marczewski earned a Golden Buzzer for her performance in 2021 — recognized the late singer and her recently accredited Nightbirde Foundation.
Marczewski’s family formed the 501(c)(3) Nightbirde Foundation to give other cancer patients like Jane some extra time to live out their purpose.
“The purpose of the foundation is to do for others what Jane was able to have, due to the generosity of others,” Jane’s brother, Mitch Marczewski said.
Diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, Jane Marczewski, who AGT judge Simon Cowell deemed his favorite Golden Buzzer Tuesday, was given months to live in 2020.
“If she would have died in 2020, AGT 2021 would never have happened, and if AGT never would have happened, she wouldn’t have been the inspiration for millions around the world — never would have came to be,” Mitch Marczewski said.
Nightbirde had plans. And so does Elaine Faye.
The singer-songwriter with more than 500 TV and film credits said she met Jane at the Cancer Center for Healing in California, out of money for treatment for her metastatic breast cancer.
“Do you need the money?” Mitch Marczewski recalled his sister asking Faye during her cancer treatments. And she (Elaine) said, ‘Yeah,’ and Jane said, ‘OK, here’s $20,000 — it was freely given to me, I’m going to freely give it to you.'”
“She helped me to be able to start the full dose chemo,” Faye said.
Faye said her treatment costs $8,000 a week, and the Nightbirde Foundation has picked up where Jane left off.
“They offered to help me and basically save my life,” Faye said.
“Sometimes we’ll be doing something in the house,” Mitch Marczewski said. “And one of Jane’s songs will come on and I’ll look around and one of my kids has my phone, and he says, ‘I just wanted to hear Jane sing today.'”
“Oh I miss her!”
Faye is the first recipient of Nightbirde Foundation, but the nonprofit has plans to help many more young women dealing with a cancer diagnosis.
“We want to continue to extend Elaine’s life the way Jane’s life was extended,” Mitch Marczewski said as the administrator of the foundation. “Because we believe Elaine still has more to do on this earth.”