Faces of the Valley: Youngsters with illnesses transformed into Superheroes for calendar

Seven-year-old Giuliana Taylor isn’t famous — yet — but she’s already getting the star treatment thanks to a local nonprofit called Superheroes Believe in Miracles.

The group rolled out the red carpet at Giuliana’s home in New Kensington to unveil her glammed-up photos that will appear in a 2022 calendar.

“It was pretty cool,” she said. “The red carpet was fun but so was getting my picture taken.”

Superheroes Believe in Miracles strives to support and empower children facing illness or limitation so they can tap their inner strength. Volunteers conduct fundraisers throughout the year and send birthday packages with small gifts to about 180 children every month.

A second grader at Mary Queen of Apostles School, Giuliana is one of 12 children featured in the group’s 2022 calendar. The youngster suffers from severe food allergies, which her mother, Sandra Taylor, said can be life-threatening if untreated.

“We have to be careful with everything,” Taylor said. “There can be cross-contamination in kitchens with pots and pans, or, even at the playground, I have to wipe down the swings and slides, which sounds crazy.”

Superheroes Believe in Miracles was founded in 2013 by Harrison resident Amy Faltot after her now-9-year-old son, Anderson, was born with an undeveloped digestive tract. He has since outgrown any effects.

“We were in Children’s Hospital for three months and it was a really rough patch,” Faltot said. “I saw so many kids battling the biggest things — adults would’ve curled up at these things — and the kids were still smiling and laughing. They were heroes.”

Faltot said the memories lingered with her until she found a way to honor the children by founding the nonprofit.

“The sole purpose of our group is to highlight these kids,” she said.

More than 15,000 birthday packages have been sent out since the group’s inception to children across the country.

The calendar has become Faltot’s passion project.

“This is my favorite thing that I do,” she said. “We just want to highlight these kids and make them feel super special.”

Taylor said her daughter was thrilled to dress for her calendar photo shoot as Star Wars character Rey Skywalker, with whom she found a kinship because of her fearlessness.

“She was beyond excited,” Taylor said. “She loves having her picture taken but more than that, she really is an advocate for herself and is constantly trying to let people know about the severity of food allergies.”

Diagnosed at 10 months, Giuliana is allergic to eggs, tree nuts, peanuts and sesame seeds.

“A lot of people don’t realize the seriousness of allergies,” Taylor said. “They don’t see it as an illness but it is a serious medical condition.”

Other local children included in next year’s calendar include:

• Kellan Conroy, 9, of Brackenridge, as The Beast

• Isaiah Barton, 11, of Sarver, as The Hulk

• Austin Lasher, 5, of Lower Burrell, as Iron Man

• Gus Gold, 4, of Natrona Heights, as Gecko from PJ Masks

• Marco Mangieri, 7, of Gibsonia, as Spider-man

• Becca Greenia, 12, of Kittanning, as Rapunzel

Faltot said local photographers donate their time to capture shots for the calendar, which is created for free by the Pittsburgh-based design studio ocreations.

“In the past, our superheroes were celebrated at a red-carpet reveal party, but this year we could not safely gather, so the red carpet came to the kids,” Faltot said.

Each of the children was feted with a roving “Hollywood treatment” and a calendar reveal with family and friends.

“So often, these kids don’t get to celebrate how unique they are,” Faltot said. “They are full of resilience and everyone should know how amazing they are.”

Calendars cost $10 and are available at superheroesbelieveinmiracles.com.