By Rick Hynum
Giuliana Calascibetta won’t be losing sleep over a man this Valentine’s Day weekend, but she will stay up all night for an online event that’s like nothing you’ve ever seen from a pizzeria GM.
The vivacious, fun-loving leader of the Rochester, New York-based Cam’s Pizzeria brand—known to her legions of Twitch followers as Pizza Princess G—plans to use the holiday to raise funds for the American Heart Association (AHA) in a 24-hour live-stream event. And you can bet it’ll be must-watch TV.
It’s certainly pizzeria marketing and branding innovation at its most ingenious—but with authenticity and, well, heart.
“I always make things from the heart,” Calascibetta told PMQ Pizza. “Obviously heart disease is something that affects almost every family in some way, but what really hit me was learning how [heart disease increasingly impacts young people] and how it affects women. High blood pressure. Stress. Mental health. These aren’t just ‘older people problems.’ Young people think they’re invincible—including myself! So I realized we don’t talk enough about heart health until it’s too late.”
Calascibetta, who was featured on PMQ’s October 2023 cover, boasts nearly 200,000 followers on Twitch alone and serves as a Twitch ambassador. Mostly she makes pizza on camera, often all day and into the night. But she’s such a magnetic presence that hundreds, even thousands, will sit and watch her stretch dough or pile on pepperoni slices while joking with customers and training new team members for hours on end. She and her sister, Bianca Calascibetta, are also the masterminds behind Cam’s famous Crazy Slices—the latest include the Garlic Gummy Hearts pie, featuring Trolli candy, and the York Hearts pizza topped with York peppermint patties.
Related: Pizza Princess G: The Taylor Swift of Pizza Takes Twitch by Storm
And you can’t watch Calascibetta’s stream without sitting through commercials for top-shelf advertisers like Domino’s, Panera Bread or Firehouse Subs, a testament to her popularity on a platform that somehow finds magic in the mundane.
Twitch, after all, is more about connection and community than spectacle, and few connect with their fans like Pizza Princess G. Dave Portnoy might make headlines with his ofttimes self-aggrandizing One Bite reviews, but she steals hearts just by being who she is—funny, outgoing, empathetic, playful, self-effacing and unabashedly kooky when the occasion calls for it.
She’s also into healing hearts, and that’s the goal for “Pizza From the Heart,” taking place February 13 through 14 on the Pizza Princess G Twitch channel as well as Calascibetta’s other social media platforms. Cam’s four Rochester locations will donate 20% of all Valentine’s Day sales to the AHA. Meanwhile, Calascibetta will personally make and deliver heart-shaped pizzas to healthcare providers in Rochester and is working with local media outlets to promote the newsworthy event across the region. (If you tuned into her Twitch channel on Wednesday night, you probably saw her hand-making valentines for anyone who donates $50 or more to the cause, all the while chatting with— and charming—her followers.)
Finally, Calascibetta, who’s also an artist, will paint a large, one-of-a-kind heart-shaped pizza artwork live during the streamcast. It will be auctioned to the highest bidder, and the money goes directly to the AHA.
“Pizza From the Heart,” she noted, “isn’t just a cute name. It’s symbolic. People think my whole brand is pizza, but this mission is about protecting the actual heart behind all of that. That shifted it from a campaign to a mission for me personally. Also, a huge shoutout to my sister and brand manager, Bianca, for always capturing the vision behind what I’m doing and reminding me to believe in it. From the logo to the overall creative direction, she brings my ideas to life in ways that make me feel seen and supported.”
In this Q&A, Calascibetta fills us in on the story behind the event, so read on to learn more:
PMQ: You’ve built a huge community on Twitch for years. What made you decide this was the time to channel that platform into a 24-hour charity event? And is there also some marketing strategy involved?
Calascibetta: I think this is the first time I felt truly aligned. For years I’ve built my stream and the pizzerias around energy, fun, chaos and creativity! I always knew I wanted to use it for something bigger than just me. After all, with great power comes great responsibility—guess that movie! But timing matters. You have to feel ready, and I feel ready to make a real difference that isn’t just putting crazy toppings on pizza.
This year feels different. I feel more grounded. More intentional. I understand my impact more.
Is there a strategy? Of course. I understand that a 24-hour stream creates urgency. It creates a moment. It gets people talking. It builds community depth, not just surface engagement that you always seem to see online these days!
But the strategy only works if the intention is real. This isn’t “charity for content.” This is “life sharing in service of something meaningful” because I’m not a content creator—I am a life sharer!
PMQ: How are you structuring the stream so that you can keep your energy up and engagement high? It sounds like a grueling marathon, although I know you’ll make it fun!
Calascibetta: It is a marathon. But I’ve done hard things before. This will be my eighth 24-hour stream. I’ve also completed Pizzathon 1 & 2, which were marathon streams—111 hours & 222 hours streamed straight out of the pizzeria, never leaving work! I would love to talk about that sometime!
The key is structure and emotional pacing. Also…I’m very aware of my body. Hydration. Food. Scheduled resets. I’m treating it like an athlete would treat a performance.
But the biggest energy source? Purpose. When you know why you’re doing something, exhaustion feels different.
PMQ: Is this gonna be the beginning of a new annual tradition—or even something bigger?
Calascibetta: I sure hope so! I don’t want this to be a one-off hype moment. I want it to become part of my brand identity—Pizza Princess G, but with heart. Literally. Maybe “princess of pizzas” and “queen of hearts”?
I’ve also genuinely loved working with the people at AHA. You can tell they really care. They’re mission-driven in a way that feels real, not performative. That makes me want to build something long-term with them, not just show up once. I’ve never partnered with a brand outside of Cam’s Pizzeria, so this is a pretty big deal to me.I don’t just want to entertain people or just make pizza all the time. I want to build something that outlives a stream and makes a real difference. And this feels like the start of that chapter!
Rick Hynum is PMQ’s editor in chief.
