Wise Guys offering helping hand in the Falls

The Wise Guys charity fund has plenty of money it wants to give away. All Niagara Falls groups have to do is ask.

Trouble is, they hardly ever do.

Representatives of the St. Catharines-based group were at Niagara Falls city council Tuesday night hoping to spread the word that they're there to help.

“There is a vast need for people and resources to do good work in the community,” said Alex Digenis of the Wise Guys, who added Niagara Falls is “woefully under-represented” when it comes to groups across Niagara that seek funding from the group.

“We’re here to tell you we know there is a need in Niagara Falls. We’re just not hearing about it.”

The Wise Guys charity fund was started about 28 years ago by a group of volunteers hoping to raise money for the Walker Family YMCA in St. Catharines.

The effort was so successful, they didn’t want to stop.

Over the years they have collected money for Niagara charities by staging events like pub nights, boxing nights, bike rides and golf tournaments.

All the money raised stays in Niagara, and the group receives no government assistance. Among the projects the Wise Guys have helped over the years:

• Wellspring Niagara, $100,000 for a new regional support centre;

• Heartland Forest in Niagara Falls, $40,000 for a new learning centre;

• Red Roof Retreat, $30,000 toward the purchase of a van to transport disabled children.

“We’ve written cheques as small as $500 and cheques as big as $100,000,” said Wise Guys board chairman Doug Smith.

He said across Niagara, the group receives the fewest requests from agencies in Niagara Falls on a per capita basis.

About 13 years ago, he said, the Wise Guys raised $100,000 in a year for the first time. Last year, they raised more than $350,000 and over the decades have collected $3.1 million to distribute to Niagara charities.

More information on the Wise Guys is available at WiseGuysCharity.com.