Band of Angels Descends with Toys & Hope

The joyous look in a child's face as he opens a special Christmas present is what makes Al DiGuido's heart beat just a little faster.

DiGuido will surprise more than 4,000 children facing cancer, debilitating disease and domestic violence this holiday season with quality toys through his charity, Al's Angels.

A 20-year Westport resident and CEO of his own 320-employee digital marketing company, DiGuido has been donning his Santa Claus suit a lot lately to hand-deliver the holiday-wrapped presents to children's cancer facilities in the Bronx, Harlem and Bridgeport, and at private homes in Connecticut and New York where families are struggling with the daunting challenges of a sick child and dwindled financial resources.

"What we give is what they have," DiGuido said in an interview this week at Doc's Café. "There's no federal bailout for these families."

Etched in his memory is the sight of a 10-year-old girl suffering from a rare form of cancer struggling to get out of her wheelchair to sit in Santa's (DiGuido's) lap last year.

This year when he returned, the girl was noticeably failing.

Her mother had told DiGuido that her daughter coveted a computer with a Wii component.

Presto! Wish granted!

"She bonded with a band of angels," DiGuido said.

He speaks of other children as tenderly as that of the 10-year-old girl. DiGuido's eyes moisten when he talks about a recent experience at a facility in the Bronx for children with developmental difficulties.

Waiting patiently in line for his special moment with Santa (DiGuido in disguise), an 11-year-old boy summoned enormous pride to present DiGuido with a gift, truly believing he was the real Santa.

The box was stuffed with drawings, pictures and games the boy had been painstakingly creating and assembling since Halloween for the moment when he would have a one-on-one with Santa.

The box even contained a can of CocaCola — should Santa develop a thirst during his busy travels, the youth had explained.

After enjoying the Christmas party, the boy would go home to a homeless shelter, DiGuido said.

"I pray for miracles," he said.

DiGuido had the idea to start his own charity after attending a fundraiser given by the New York Giants to raise money for families of children with devastating illnesses.

DiGuido is a big Giants fan and so he went, hoping to secure players' autographs.

But listening to parents speak about their experiences — their young children dying of cancer and their savings wiped out — and looking into their eyes as they spoke, DiGuido said he was profoundly moved.

"Walking the halls of the places we've been is unnerving," he said. "These kids didn't make life choices. They were dealt a bad deck of cards."

"We consider cancer a despicable foe: why is it preying on the young?" DiGuido asked. "Helping in a small way, you know you are alive and have emotions."

DiGuido started raising money on his own for charitable giving to suffering families and, six years ago, created Al's Angels as a non-profit.

The Angels hold several fundraisers throughout the year — the Saugatuck Rowing Club and Aitoro's Appliances in Norwalk were hosts this year — and gather their 50 or so volunteers round to pack crates full of food for Thanksgiving dinner and, later, Christmas.

Each crate has $100 worth of good-quality food purchased at a discount from Shop-Rite in Norwalk. The Thanksgiving donation has a gift certificate for a turkey; a canned ham comes with each food bin going to 1,500 families, including many to Westport's Canal Park, this holiday season.

This year, DiGuido and his charity have raised upwards of $250,000 for struggling families. The money is all spent on food and toys, which are distributed with the help of other charities.

For several years, DiGuido and his charity have lit up the Bridge Street bridge in Saugatuck with Christmas lights (with town and state permission).

At 3 a.m. the morning after Thanksgiving, DiGuido and his volunteers set up their display with the assistance of the Westport Police Department, who close off one late of bridge traffic.

The lighting serves dual purposes.

For one, DiGuido just likes holiday lights. He's a native of the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn where neighbors try to outdo each other with garish holiday lighting displays.

But more importantly, he hopes the bright lights will remind residents to think of the suffering of others and encourage them to offer a helping hand.

"With the lights on, we think of it as the bridge of hope," DiGuido said. "These children and families need light and hope and joy."

More information about Al's Angels is available at www.alsangels.org.